


Trustworthy

by MaraDin



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Finding Oneself, Romance, Romantic Angst/Tension, Slow Burn, WARNINGS: see beginnings of chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 01:20:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 53,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7412866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaraDin/pseuds/MaraDin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After losing the one thing keeping her going in a world of corporate slavery, a young woman stakes it all in an attempt to find freedom.  A new town, new friends, and a new life, but this drastic change dredges up long buried fears and insecurities. Haunted by her past and hesitant to embrace her future, Emmaline Avenell struggles to find a person she can trust wholeheartedly. </p><p>Rating is Mature, but any and all warnings will be at the beginning of each chapter. So far, there's definitely nothing that isn't seen on regular TV nowadays, with the exception of strong language.<br/>POV Female Character<br/>POV Sebastian<br/>POV Sam</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life's Better with Joja

**Author's Note:**

> This story is an expanded work of Stardew Vignettes, a series of short scenes I wrote when thinking about the story of Emmaline. If you don't want any spoilers of what may happen to our heroine in the future, don't look it up! (If you do, then go for it! :D )
> 
> To those who read my previous work, thank you! I have made a few small changes between versions for this chapter. I hope you all enjoy Trustworthy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: unwanted sexual interest/advances

Chapter 1: Life’s Better with Joja

by MaraDin

 

I rubbed my eyes.  The numbers on the screen were starting to blur again.  The grating ring of my desk phone bounced through my skull.  _Awesome, one migraine, coming right up._

“Hello?”

“Ms. Avenell?”

“This is she.”

“HR needs you to report immediately to office 310 for professional feedback.”

_Crap.  What about this time?  It’s probably because I pissed off Jack._

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“You will be there immediately.” I heard the click signaling my dismissal.  _Joja Corp, the most upbeat slave labor in the market!_   I pushed away from my desk, the rollers on my chair clicking in the annoying way they always did when I slid more than a few inches in either direction.  I reached back over to lock my computer.  _The last thing I need is another documentation while I’m getting ripped a new one in HR._   My back cracked as I stretched, prompting Landon to stretch around his cubicle wall.  _Freaking pervert._   I shot him a glare.

“What?” he defended himself. “It’s not like I get a whole lot of opportunities to look at pretty women around here.”  He grinned disarmingly, but his eyes didn’t stay on mine long.  I walked past his cubicle quickly.  At least he’s better than walking by Terrance, who usually tries to cop a feel if he can get away with it. 

“Emma?”  The feminine voice made me raise my eyes from the patterned industrial carpeting. 

“Ollie!”  _The one man in this damn place who isn’t a bastard._   The flamboyant man jumped out of his chair to give me a quick peck on the cheek.  He was wearing a loose sleeved paisley blouse with…

“Are those _pleather?_ ”  I gasped in astonishment.

“Girl, these are my best find at Goodwill all freaking year.”  He did a small twirl.  “Genuine 1960’s Corfam.”

“You look like a pirate out of a porno.”  He feigned anguish.

“You are just jealous you can’t pull off these fabulous pants.”

“Low blow, string bean.  You’re what, a size negative 2?”

He actually did glare at me then.  “What have I told you about your curves?  Curves make the woman, woman!”  I rolled my eyes.  I mean, I wasn’t like Jabba the Hutt, but I nowhere came close to attractively thin.  I changed the subject.

“I’ve got to go, HR is on my ass again.”

“For what sweetie?”

“Don’t know, Jack maybe?”

His green eyes darkened.  “You didn’t do anything wrong, if anything _I_ should be the one going up there.  You were just standing up for me.”

“I’m sure it will be fine, but I’m late already.”  I started walking away, but called back, “Porn Pirate!”

“You wish!”

\--<>\--

The elevator ride up was nerve-wracking.  For all my courage with Ollie, Jack had enough weight to get me fired for what I pulled at the office Fall Harvest party.  _But it’s not like I could have just let him do that to Ollie._

_“Hello Oliver.” Jack was dressed smartly in what had to be his hundredth new tailored suit._

_“Mr. Kenrick.”_

_“Have you reconsidered my proposition Oliver?”_

_“I told you I wasn’t interested in the promotion, not the way you offered. I wouldn’t_ ever _take that deal.”_

_Jack’s neck started to get red, a telltale vein coming to the forefront.  I saw it and made a beeline from the hors d'oeuvres to Ollie’s side._

_The expensively dressed man leaned in. “You will regret not taking advantage of my generosity, faggot.”_

_Ollie’s hand curled into a fist around the tiny umbrella from his drink._

_I spoke up loudly enough for the guests around us to hear. “Please forgive me Mr. Kenrick, but I’m afraid that term is one of the newly listed hate words the company has adopted a no-tolerance policy for.  You must not have been aware.”  The glare shifted to me._

_“What would you know of it… what is your name?”_

_“Emmaline, sir.”_

_“Well, Emmaline, this is no business of yours, it’s_ personal _.”_

_“Then I would say it is indeed my business, as Oliver here is my good friend, and his personal life and wellbeing are very much my concern.”_

_By this point, a crowd was starting to gather around.  Jack seemed to notice, and straightened from his threatening pose.   “Emmaline, Oliver, I’m sure we can discuss this_ misunderstanding _at a more appropriate time.”  He left with the vein in his neck still pulsing.  The crowd slowly dispersed._

_“Ollie, what was that?”_

_My friend blushed, but whether from anger or embarrassment I couldn’t tell. “He wanted certain discrete… favors from me at his convenience during work hours in exchange for a promotion.  A promotion to an office near his.  For his… accessibility.” Ollie shuddered slightly. “I told him very firmly no, and he hasn’t been pleased by that answer.”_

_“Oh Ollie!”  Oliver just shook his head, but I could see the beginning of tears forming in his eyes.  My best friend had always been soft at heart._

_“You’ve got to get out of this job!  You can’t stay here with him hanging over you like that!  Who knows what he’ll do!  What if he fires you and you can’t get a reference from anyone?”_

_“They can’t fire me.  I’m the only openly gay man working here, it would be a PR nightmare for them.”_

_I couldn’t disagree, but I still wasn’t happy._

The elevator dinged, and with a whoosh slid open to reveal the third floor.  _PR indeed_.  The Joja slogan was pasted everywhere, in motivational posters with way too cheerful people smiling at one another while shaking hands.  _Join us. Thrive._   What they didn’t put in was that Joja thrived on the backs of its underpaid workers and cutthroat business model.  I walked down the adequately lit hallways, winding between the cubicles in pristine condition.  I was hired and interviewed on this floor.  I never would have said yes if I had seen where I was actually working.  _Yes, you would have. You need the money._  I almost walked right by the Professional Development wing.  I turned down the hall, and found 310 to be the first door on the right.  Inside was sitting a woman with a severe bun and reading glasses halfway down her nose.  Behind her, as I feared, was Jack.

“Ms. Avenell.” She spoke just as sharply as she scowled at me.  “It appears there has been a complaint filed against you by Mr. Kenrick,” whom she indicated with a nod, “He states that you intentionally tried to defame him during last week’s Fall Harvest party. 

I took a seat to hide the fact that my fingernails were biting into my palms.  Her eyebrows raised at what I’m sure qualified as “insolence” on my part.  I put on my most calm face that I could manage. 

“I’m sure that was a complete misunderstanding Ms…?”  I looked at her expectantly.

“ _Mrs._ Breckenridge.” She emphasized her marital status.  Then it clicked.  Breckenridge. The new VP was named Breckenridge, Darren Breckenridge.  _Oh God._

“ _Mrs._ Breckenridge,” I hedged, “My only intent with my statements to Mr. Kenrick on that night were to remind him of the new policies your husband put in place when he joined our wonderful company.”  I hoped the mention of it being her husband’s policy would help my case.

Jack butted into the conversation. “If that was your intent, why did you call me on it so publicly?”  His tone was venomous.

Mrs. Breckenridge looked at him appraisingly.  “Mr. Kenrick, you told me earlier that this woman had no reason to state that you were using inappropriate language at a company event.  Was I mistaken in hearing you?”

Jack couldn’t hide the shock at being caught in his lie fast enough to fool her.  “I… I…”  He knew he had screwed himself.  Looking away, he stopped talking altogether.

The austere woman turned back to me.  “Well, Ms. Avenell, why did you correct your colleague…” “Boss,” Jack interjected. Breckenridge cleared her throat, “…colleague so openly?”

Jack’s blunder had given me enough time to think. “I’m afraid I had already had a few alcoholic drinks by that point of the evening, and I think I must have been speaking more loudly than I realized.”  I did my best to look sheepish.  The stress of the situation didn’t hurt my performance.

Mrs. Breckenridge nodded to that.  “Alcohol can bring out the worst behavior in all of us.” She looked pointedly at Jack then turned back to me.  “I assume you will be more self-controlled at the next company event?”

“Of course Mrs. Breckenridge.”

“You are dismissed Ms. Avenell.”  Without looking away from me she continued, “You will stay here for a moment Mr. Kenrick, as we have other items to discuss.”  I tried to keep the smirk off my face.

“Thank you Mrs. Breckenridge.”  She shooed me out of the office with a wave of her hand.  I gladly took the out and scurried back to the elevator before anyone could think to call me back.

\--<>\--

Ollie was relieved, and amused, to hear what had transpired above.  “I think I might just begin to like that old hag!”

“Shh!  Not so loud, I don’t want her on my bad side!”  Oliver just laughed. 

“Thank you, sweetie, for sticking up for me.”  He became solemn.  “And it’s good to know that someone higher up in this company is looking out for people like me.”

“I think Mr. Breckenridge might just be the ally we need for us little people.” I winked at Ollie.  “I gotta get back to my cubicle.  I’m sure I’ll get a write up for all this time I was gone, even if it was to go to HR.”

I got back to my cubicle without being harassed by even Landon, who thankfully happened to be on one of the few breaks we got in our 10 hour shift.  Even after the victory with Jack in Breckenridge’s office, I knew he wouldn’t give up so easily.  The man was ruthless, and everyone knew he backstabbed and bribed his way to his position at the top.  _I’ve got to keep a close eye out for Ollie.  Somehow I doubt a firing is the worst thing Jack will pull to get even, or to get what he wants._   I shook my head to stop that train of thought.  The buzzer sounded that ended break, and I pulled back up the sales spreadsheet I was supposed to be organizing by location and population.  A machine to sort consumers into products themselves.

_Life’s better with Joja._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introduction to Emmaline, and her background/personality before going to Stardew Valley. I hope to show how her character develops throughout the story and through her trials and tribulations. 
> 
> Please, please, leave comments, especially if they are constructive criticism or to point out errors! I write for fun, and have no editor, but I love feedback!
> 
> -MaraDin


	2. Emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emmaline is faced with a tough decision when Ollie's life is on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Descriptions of physical violence

Chapter 2: Emergency

by MaraDin

            I packed up my meager messenger bag of belongings after shutting down my computer.  The overseers’ office lights were out, but the security camera that panned over my cubicle and the hallway beside it was faithfully blinking away.  _Not that any of this shit is worth stealing anyway._   I shouldered the bag, and started towards the doors leading to the parking garage.   I looked for Ollie on my way, but his cubicle was already empty.  I remembered him saying he had a date tonight, someone he had met at _Gents_.  _I hope to God he’s not wearing what he wore to work._   I rolled my eyes at the idea, because that’s exactly the type of outfit Ollie would wear to make an impression on a new suitor. 

I pulled out my pepper spray as I pushed through the security door in the back.  The parking garage was a dimly light nightmare.  Flickering lights and few security cameras complemented the numerous signs that stated that Joja Corporation could not be held responsible for any bodily harm or loss of possessions that occurred in the lot.  With an easy thousand employees coming and going, parking was always atrocious.  It didn’t help that the best floors of the garage were reserved for higher ups in the company.  I made my way to the stairs, again wishing that Ollie had waited for me.  We always parked next to each other, and usually walked together after our shift.  As I reached the bottom of the first flight of stairs, I jumped at the sound of my phone playing out the chorus of _Don’t Stop Me Now_.  “Ollie?” I questioned out loud.  _I hope everything is going okay on his date…_   I slid the green icon over awkwardly, trying to keep my bag balanced on my shoulder while not drenching myself in the face with the pepper spray. 

“Ollie, what’s up?” 

Instead of a reply, I heard a loud thump on the other line, then another, and another.  “Ollie?!”  The sound of what I thought was phone hitting pavement and a car alarm in the distance.  “Ollie!  Hold on!  I’m almost to my car!  Ollie!”

I raced down the remaining flights of the stairwell like a maniac, pressing my phone to my ear to try and hear what was happening. 

A gurgling voice reached my ear. “Please… stop…”

A muffled “Fuck you!” and more thuds was the only reply.

I burst out of the stairwell and veered to my right.  _Was Ollie still in the garage?  Did he already go to the bar, only to get mugged?  What’s happening!?_

Rounding the corner, I skidded to a halt.   A masked man stood over a prone shaking form beside Ollie’s car.  The man looked up at me, then down at his victim.  My rage boiled over unexpectedly. 

“Get away from him!” I shouted. “I’ve already got the cops on the line, and they’re on their way!”  It was a lie, but I hoped it would work.  I held up my pepper spray and marched toward the man.  “You’d better get out of here before they arrive.”  My voice dropped into a dangerous tone, “Or before I lose it completely and take my anger out on you myself.”  My eyes hardened.  “And I’ve not had a great day.”

The man didn’t seem perturbed by my show of force, but took a step back from who I now knew for sure was Oliver. 

He looked at me, the pepper spray, then shrugged.  “I did what I was paid to do.”  He turned back to Ollie, and spit on him.  “Mr. Kenrick sends his regards.”

The man strode away, confident that no one would pursue him.  I watched him leave only long enough to make sure he wasn’t coming back.  Running the last few steps, I slid to a stop on my knees next to my best friend.

“Ollie?”  I put a hand on him.  “Ollie!  Please answer me!”  I received a groan in response.  I sighed audibly.  At least he was still breathing and conscious.  His clothes were ripped, and blood was seeping through the paisley print blouse at one spot on his chest.  I pulled Ollie up onto my lap, and hugged him tightly. 

“Ow!” He softly yelped. 

“Oh Ollie!” I loosened my grip, but didn’t let go of the man.  “What happened?  Why didn’t you leave for your date?” 

He groaned again, but then opened one eye to peer up at me.  “I forgot to walk you down.  I couldn’t leave my little lady to defend herself…”  He tried to choke out a laugh. 

“Oliver Edric Butler!” I shook my head. “Just because I don’t like to, doesn’t mean I can’t.”

Ollie closed his eye and I could tell it pained him to talk.  I delicately pulled him into a sitting position.  “Come on Ollie, we’ve got to get you to the hospital.”

He shook his head, pushing away from me as if to keep me from taking him.  “I know you don’t want to, but you could be bleeding internally, or have broken bones!  For God’s sake, Ollie, you just had the shit beaten out of you!”  I hoisted him to his feet.  “We are going to the hospital!”

I moved him gingerly to the passenger seat of my car, and buckled him in.  He groaned again at the seatbelt pressing against his wounded chest, but I wasn’t taking any chances.  Darting behind the wheel, I raced us out of the parking garage and into the cold November night.

\--<>\--

            It was agonizing to be at work the next day.  Ollie did indeed have broken bones, four broken ribs, to be exact, plus further internal injuries.  He had passed out on the way to the hospital, and the nurse was surprised I had even managed to get him in the car to begin with.  I didn’t share that this was far from Ollie’s first interaction with pain.

My computer beeped loudly as I accidently skipped another row without adding the necessary data.  _Crap._   I pulled up the corresponding Excel sheet and resumed the mind numbing process of transferring sales data from one system to another.

_“Mr. Butler?”  A young doctor entered the room we were waiting in.  “The results of your x-rays are back, and it looks like you’ll be needing to stay a few nights before we can release you.”_

_Ollie looked the doctor up and down.  “Well, as long as_ you’re _asking, Dr. Heartthrob.”  I drew my hand down my face, and addressed the physician._

_“I’m sorry doctor, the pain medicine kills the few inhibitions he has.”_

_The doctor chortled.  “It’s no problem.  He’s not the first patient to suffer from that side effect.” He paused, and continued with a half smirk.  “Plus, I think I just might be okay with my new nomenclature, if it comes from him.” He winked at Ollie._

_Ollie looked at me wide eyed, then whispered obviously “I think he likes me!”_

For all of Oliver’s silliness the night before, I knew I needed to speak with him seriously. There was no way he could come back to work.  His inability to leave the hospital was the only thing keeping him safe from whatever Jack thought to pressure him with next.  As much as I couldn’t stand the thought of working at Joja alone, I never wanted to see my best friend in this building again.

Finishing the file, I pulled up my log schedule to see what file batch I was to work on next.  “2791340725.” I muttered to myself as I searched for it in my assigned folders.  I located the Excel sheet, and opened it. 

“Southern branch: Stores 476 to 528: Location- Stardew Valley and Assoc. Neighborhoods,” I read.  “Huh.  I think that’s pretty near here.”  I pulled up a map of the area.  “So, Zuzu city is where I am now… and, ah!  There!”  The area was on the southern edge of the county, encompassing a good portion of the southern coast.  “We’re only like two hours away…”

I filed the interesting fact away.  It’s not like it would help me transfer data any faster.  As I settled down to recording how many people bought what product at which store, the monotony of my task lent itself again to wandering thoughts.  I had to figure out somewhere for Ollie.  He couldn’t come work here, and while there were plenty of jobs in Zuzu, I wasn’t sure if he’d even be safe there.  Joja owned most of the other corporations in the area, their growth killed off any business that tried to compete with it.  If it was connected with Joja in Zuzu City, it was connected with Jack.  I wracked my brain for any other place I knew he’d be safe.

“Vianne!” I exclaimed.  “Oh, I’m so stupid!”  In thinking of my own feelings for Ollie, I had forgotten a huge ally in protecting him.  I glanced up at the clock.  Half an hour, then I had my 10 minute break.  That decided it.  Vianne was going to help Ollie, even if I had to guilt her into doing it.

\--<>\--

I called our mutual friend as soon as I got on break. 

“Emmaline!  Darlin’!  How are you doin’?”  The southern drawl accentuated her energy. 

“Vianne, I’m alright.  I need to talk to you though, there’s something going on with Ollie that you need to know.  He needs our help.”

“My sweet Oliver?  I thought he had gotten himself out of that closet already.”  I could hear the frown on her face. 

“He has, Vi, but that’s the problem.”  I took a deep breath, and explained everything that had happened from the company party to Ollie’s hospital stay.  Vianne stayed silent for a long while.

“He can’t stay in Zuzu anymore, honey.”

“I know.”

“A man like that will never stop.  I know from experience.”

I sighed.  “I know Vi.”

“Talk to him tonight, Emmy, and see if you can’t convince him that a visit here wouldn’t be a wonderful opportunity to recuperate.”  In the following pause I could swear I heard the gears clicking in Vianne’s head. “I’ll make sure he never wants to leave.”

“I will.  I’ll miss him, Vi.”

“I know honey.  But you and I both know that Oliver is much too soft-hearted to fight his way out of this one.  We’ve got to fight for him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I ended the call.  It was even harder to drag myself back to my cubicle knowing that I was actively working to remove my one reliable support in this hellhole permanently.  I slumped into my chair, wheels clicking as it slid over the carpet protector on the floor.  The echoes of typing all around me sounded like a depressing rain storm that had me caught in the middle. 

And unlike the real kind, there was no falling water to hide the tear that escaped from my eye and slipped down my cheek.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was shorter than I'd usually like to write, but I felt it 2 and 3 would be better separate than together as two, so three might also be shorter than average.
> 
> Feed me feedback! 
> 
> -MaraDin


	3. The Smell of Hay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Unwanted sexual advances and non-sexual unwanted touching

Chapter 3: The Smell of Hay

by MaraDin

 

_Wind whispered through golden fields as a young girl laid staring up at a cornflower blue sky dotted with fluffy white sheep.  She was lonely, and relishing the feeling.  No one yelling, no shattering glass.  She breathed in deeply the smell of unharvested hay and stagnant pond water.  The vast openness of the sky above her made her feel small, and she wished she could melt into the warm earth and live as one of the sunflowers that smiled above her.  Her giggle tinkled into the breeze like the wind chime hanging on the porch of the small cabin as a ladybug landed on her cheek.  She would be happy to never leave this place._

_Her reverie was broken by the shouts of other children who were rapidly approaching her hiding spot.  She sat up warily, peeking hazel eyes over the waving grasses around her.  A young girl was being pursued by two boys, one of which was carrying a ball of mucus outstretched in his hand, the other falling behind. The girl was shrieking, brown hair flying behind her as she ran._

_“Sam!”  The dark haired boy called out, pulling the lonely girl’s attention to him.  “We’re gonna get in trouble!  Sam!”  He reached out in a vain effort to catch the other boy._

_Distracted by the boy’s exclamations, Emmaline gasped when the chestnut haired girl hurtled into her, shouting out in shock at the sudden grounding of her flight.  They tumbled back down to the dirt, a tangle of limbs and dark curls._

_The girl pushed herself up.  Eyes wide, she looked at Emmaline.  “Who are YOU?”_

_Dropping the slimy ball as he reached them, the boy pushed his unkempt blonde hair out of his eyes as he gawked at this new person before him._

_Emmaline scooted back hastily, dragging herself through the dirt and grass while never letting her eyes leave the two children who surrounded her.  Her fear increased as the third joined them._

_“Abby?  Sam?  What is it?”  He followed their eyesight, and his mouth formed a silent “Oh.”_

_“Are you a girl?” The one called Abby asked suddenly._

_Emmaline put her hand up to her hair self-consciously.  She knew she looked like a boy, but Mama said she didn’t want to deal with long hair…  Emmaline blushed uncomfortably, and stayed silent._

_The dark haired boy knelt down next to her, and reached out a hand.  She shied away, hiding her face in her arms, but peeking from the corner of her eye saw a kind smile to accompany the hand._

_“I’m Sebastian.  Who are you?”_

\--<>\--

The dream faded almost as soon as my hand found and smacked the alarm clock shrilly indicating it was time to get up for work.  The memory of the smell of hay and sunshine lingered like a tantalizing string trying to pull my mind back to a memory I had long ago forgotten. 

Rubbing my eyes, I grimaced.  I was truly alone, starting today.  I had packed Ollie up after his return home from the hospital, having convinced him Vianne was lonely, and he really hadn’t seen her since he’d come out of the closet.  The pain meds the doctor sent home with him also didn’t hurt his pliability.  Vianne promised me she had been able to find a job for Ollie as a bartender in her bar, something we both knew he would love.  I knew he wouldn’t say no when Vianne told him she needed him to stay.

I threw the blankets off my overheated body and shivered.  This December was not turning out as mild as the long term weather forecast had predicted.  Sliding into my slippers, I pulled out the scrunchie that kept my hair out of my face.  The dark auburn locks were frizzy from the dry winter air, and I knew they’d be a pain in the ass to brush out.  I pushed myself off the bed, and shuffled to my bathroom.  The morning routine was _so_ routine by this point, I got myself ready still mostly asleep.  As I slowly became conscious over my cereal and coffee, the realization of just what I’d be walking into from now until the foreseeable future made me miserable.  I had started this job to help out Dad, but now that his hospital bills were paid off, I was left working a dead end job that I hated.  More than hated, despised really.  I sighed.  It’s not like I could just stop working, and this job at Joja was just as good as any other Joja-owned job I could find in Zuzu.  I didn’t want to be far from Dad, so that took away the option of leaving with Ollie. 

Washing my cereal bowl, I grabbed my messenger bag and headed out the door.  The drive to Joja Corp was the same as always, too long for the distance, stupid traffic since _everyone_ was employed at nearly the same location, and the nauseating twist down the ramp to the sublevels of the parking garage.  Thankfully, the morning rush was the one time I didn’t have to be worry about being mugged down here.  I stepped into the stream of people leaving their car for the stairwell, which turned into a veritable flood as we moved higher and closer to the workspace.  People dressed in casual clothes like myself, then the addition of business casual for HR, but separate from us both were the execs in tailored suits.  They seemed to go out of their way to avoid coming near us.  My mouth hardened at the sight of them.  _Where do they get off treating us like we’ve got some kind of disease?_

I finally exited the mass of workers at my cubicle station, taking my seat and starting up the computer.  The overseers were already in, the harsh blue light of their glass-walled offices shining into the unreliably lit room, reflecting as glare off of computer monitors.  My computer welcomed me with its usual gusto- an error screen.  I smacked it lightly on top, and rebooted.  _At least I still have you, my dependable old failing friend._

Finally able to access my files, I logged in to the payroll program, and opened the file from yesterday. 

 _Oh yeah, the Stardew Valley and Neighborhoods_ _one._   I quickly scrolled through to see how much was left and groaned.  At least a day’s worth of work still in this file.  I was definitely not getting any promotional bonuses this pay period.  Settling in to my creaking chair, I began the process of relaying data from one sheet to another.

\--<>\--

I ate my lunch alone.

Listening and people watching had always been an activity I enjoyed, but doing so now simply because I had no one else to talk to was kind of depressing.  The fridge was surrounded by people talking about the upcoming Winterstar company party.  We were only a week into the month, but HR took its parties seriously.  Flyers for volunteer positions and decoration donations were posted under the announcement of the party itself.  _Considering how well the last one went, I think I’ll pass._

I chewed my ramen purchased from the food vending machine, contemplating what I was going to do this Winterstar.  _I suppose I’ll go see Dad if I have the day off._  I snorted. _Like that will happen._   It wasn’t on one of my weekends this year, and for all of HR’s holiday cheer, company policy stated that no agent was allowed time off without scheduling it two months prior.  _And management gets first dibs._  

My phone’s timer went off, signifying my time to relax was over, and if I wanted to be signed back in on time I needed to head back now.  I tossed the empty ramen container into the trash, and made my way out of the break room, having to shimmy past a few chatty Kathy’s in the doorway. 

I was almost back to my cubicle when Landon caught my wrist.  “Hey babe.”  I tried to pull it out of his grasp, but he held on.  I turned, pissed off.

“What Landon?”

“I see your little fabulous friend is no longer in the building.”  He waggled his eyebrows.  “So does that mean you’re free to spend some time with me now?  Never knew why you wanted to spend it with a gay guy anyway, not when you could have me.”  He grinned what I’m sure he thought was a dashing smile, but it just came across as sleazy.

I pulled my wrist again, this time more forcefully, and thankfully it broke his hold.  “I need to sign back in Landon, or I’m going to be late.”

He put his hands up defensively.  “Fine, fine!  I wouldn’t want that.”  He stepped back, but stated with a wink “I’ll catch you after work then, babe,” and disappeared behind his cubicle wall.

I shuddered, seeing Landon in a new light.  _Maybe Ollie had been protecting me more than I knew…_

I went to log back in, but the episode with Landon was the last straw.  I was so shaken up about Ollie, and now being alone, and now on top of this some creep was trying to harass me! 

The tears started before I comprehended what was happening.  I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will them back into my head.  It didn’t work.  Frantic to not be caught crying on the security camera, I swept my eyes over my desk for facial tissues.  Of course there would be none.  I ripped open the first drawer, though I couldn’t even remember what I kept in there.

What I saw stopped me cold.  It wasn’t tissues, and although my betraying eyes kept up the waterworks, I forgot all about the small squares of paper to pull out the envelope sitting before me.  It was sealed with the stamp my grandfather used to use on all his letters.  I always thought he was so silly to use such an antiquated way of sealing letters.

_“But this way, Emmy, everyone knows it’s me!” he chuckled at my bemused and irritated expression.  “You’ll get it one day, when you want people to know who you are too.”  His rough hand mussed my cropped hair._

Grandfather had died when I was seven, in an assisted living home here in Zuzu, but as I thought about his hands, I felt like there was something else, something I had forgotten about my grandfather. 

I carefully broke the seal of the unlabeled letter. 

_“Dear Emmy,_

_If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change._

_The same thing happened to me, long ago.  I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature.  So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

_I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: New Dawn Farm.  It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast.  It’s the perfect place to start your new life._

_This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours.  I know you’ll honor the love and commitment I put into that land, my dear._

_Love,_

_Grandfather_

_P.S. If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?”_

A folded heavy weight sheet of paper fell from between the pages of the letter and landed in my lap.  Dazed, I picked it up. 

_DEED OF LAND TRANSFER_

_This Deed of Land Transfer documents the transfer of NEW DAWN FARM from Mr. Elias Samuel Devan to one Miss Emmaline Margaret Avenell_

_…_

The deed continued, but it slipped from my numb fingers and thudded softly to the floor.  

_The farm.  My grandfather had once lived on, no!  Worked on and owned a farm.  That’s why his hands were rough and callused._ My dream memory scent of hay came back to me then, and I looked at the letter still held in my other hand.  _Stardew Valley_ …  That must have been why I dreamed.  I knew the name, somewhere in my subconscious, and seeing it must have reminded me of the smell of Grandfather’s farm. 

Through all of the shit that had befallen me this week, this one miracle, one gift from Yoba, was sitting in my desk- had likely been sitting there for ages- and the worst week of my adult life had brought it to me.  I giggled, then laughed out loud.  Tears still in my eyes, and red trails down my cheeks, I looked directly up at the camera staring down at me accusingly and grinned.

“I QUIT!” I shouted to it.

I grabbed the deed transfer from the floor, and carefully with Grandfather’s letter, put it in my messenger bag.  I slammed my ID badge down onto my desk, and without looking back strode down the corridor between cubicles and out of Joja Corporation- Zuzu City Headquarters forever.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've realized two things: One, I do not like chapter summaries. They are distracting. Two, notes sections are not as annoying as I thought they would be.
> 
> On to other notes! I decided to change Grandpa's letter a little, as Emmaline calls him Grandfather, not Grandpa, and for reasons that have been hinted at, but may not yet be obvious, the family name is somewhat of a sore subject. 
> 
> I've always really liked the opening in Back to Nature/Friends of Mineral Town where you have this vague memory of meeting someone as a child at your grandfather's farm. I hope I did it justice incorporating it here!
> 
> I also hope I captured the essence of the opening animation in this chapter. I watched it over and over to try to get the details right, but obviously there's a bit of creative interpretation. 
> 
> Please leave feedback if you are so inclined! It sustains me through these trying times! XD
> 
> -MaraDin


	4. (3.5) Letters

Chapter 3.5: Letters

by MaraDin

 

_Dear Sir or Madam,_

_I write this letter to inform you that I am interested in renewing the habitation of New Dawn Farm.  The farm belonged to Elias Devan, my grandfather, who left it to me upon his death.  I realize that this is short notice, but I would like to relocate to the farm at the end of this month, if at all possible.  In all likelihood, the homestead is in a great state of disrepair, as my grandfather left it fifteen years ago, and I am in hopes Pelican Town may be able to direct me to a skilled woodworker or carpenter that I may hire to make necessary repairs before I arrive._

_Sincerely,_

_Emmaline Avenell_

_Ms. Avenell,_

_We would be honored to have you join our community and take up residence at your grandfather’s farm.  He and I were close friends once, and I am sure you would be as welcome a part of our citizenry as he was._

_While moving in two weeks is indeed hasty, I believe we can accommodate you.  Are you planning on taking up the farm work as well, if I may ask?_

_We have a wonderful carpenter here in Pelican Town, by the name of Robin Wright.  She will be more than ecstatic to take on your request.  I will forward your previous letter to her, as well as my own notes, and I have listed below her contact information._

_Regards,_

_Mayor Lewis_

_Robin Wright_

_24 Mountain Road_

_Pelican Town, Stardew Valley Provenance_

_Mayor Lewis,_

_Thank you so much for your timely reply!  My grandfather spoke of you in his last letter to me, I will be so pleased to meet someone who knew him well.  My plan was to take over the farming duties, although I must admit, I will be less than a novice when I first arrive._

_I will contact Ms. Wright immediately to begin the hiring process._

_Again, thank you for all your assistance,_

_Emmaline Avenell_

_Ms. Wright,_

_I was given this contact information by Mayor Lewis of Pelican Town, with which he stated that you were the premier carpenter in the area.  I am planning on inhabiting New Dawn Farm come beginning of next month, but realize it must be in dire need of repairs.  If you are willing to take the job, please send me a description of the condition of the house, as well as an estimate of your charges to make it livable._

_Sincerely,_

_Emmaline Avenell_

_Ms. Avenell,_

_I would love to take the job of fixing up the old place!  I will warn you, after this many years, it will need quite a bit of work, but my prices are fair and what I build will last.   Many of the major structures have damage, and will need replacing, but it is a fairly small cottage.  My estimate for labor and supplies comes to 4000 G.  I accept wire transfers, but as you will arrive likely only shortly after I finish, I will also take cash.  The price includes my repair of a few remaining items of furniture, such as a table, chair and bed.  The cottage will be fully functional when I have finished._

_I know it must be hard to leave all you know behind to come so far away from the big city, please feel free to visit my shop at any time.  My husband Demetrius is a scientist, and I have a son and daughter around your age.  I’m sure they would all love to meet you._

_Robin Wright_

_Ms. Wright,_

_I will have the money in cash with me when I arrive then!  Thank you for thinking of the bed and other furniture, I will be selling most of my current possessions when I leave Zuzu.  I look forward to meeting you as well, your offer is incredibly kind!  It’s good to know there will be individuals my own age._

_Emmaline Avenell_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! 2 in one day! Granted, this isn't really a whole chapter, but when I started thinking of how I wanted to jump into the next section of plot, I realized I desperately needed some bridge between where I ended and where I wanted to begin. Thus chapter 3.5! 
> 
> -MaraDin


	5. Wonderland

Chapter 4: Wonderland

by MaraDin

 

            The green hills rolled by outside the bus window as my head bounced lightly against the glass I was resting against.  The view was serene, but my nerves were electric.  I had left Zuzu that morning with nothing more than a suitcase full of clothes and the entirety of my life’s savings, _which after today will be a sum total of 500G._   I grimaced.  I knew it wouldn’t be cheap to fix the cottage, but I had hoped to get more for my belongings I sold in the city.  At least I had enough to pay Robin though, and Dad had sent along so much ramen I didn’t think I would ever run out.  His promise of more to come in the mail was daunting.

My gaze caught on the signpost marking _Stardew Valley 0.5 mi._ as we passed it.  _I’m almost there…_

The bus entered a tunnel, and I couldn’t help feeling like I was somehow falling into Wonderland.  The darkness lit only by the headlights of the bus, hastily flicked on by a cursing driver.

“Why the hell isn’t this tunnel lit!” he grumbled.

Time stretched, and I discovered I was holding my breath as we neared the light at the tunnel’s exit.  I truly had tumbled into Wonderland.  The bus emerged into the clearing of a forest, bisected by the road.  Another bus sat on it, unoccupied, and it looked worse for the wear.  Green leafy trees mixed with the falling cherry blossoms of spring, and as I peered out the window beside me, I saw a… _mine cart_?

“Ugghhn,” The driver groaned.  “I hate coming here.   Why can’t they get anything fixed in this dump?”

His words did not inspire confidence in my decision.  He stood and called out, “Stardew Valley!  Stop for Stardew Valley!”  Grabbing his clipboard, he flipped a few pages.  “Avenell.”  He scanned the faces of myself and the remaining passengers, and I meekly raised my hand.

“My stop, sir.”  He waved me to the front as he opened the doors and descended to pull my suitcase out of the storage compartment. 

As I met him to take my belongings, he shook his head.  “You really want to stay here young lady?”  He looked around, and then turned pitying eyes on me.  “I won’t say anything if you want to ride back to Zuzu.  No charge.”

I hesitantly took in my surroundings.  Lewis was supposed to be here to meet me, but there was no one in sight.  I looked back at the bus driver, who was waiting on my response.  His tired eyes had bags under them, and the Joja logo on his cap and polo were well worn.  I made my decision.

 _I came here to start a new life.  No matter how hard._   “I’m staying.”  I tried to smile reassuringly, but I think it came out as a grimace. 

“Alrighty then, miss.”  He shrugged his shoulders, and closed the storage hatch.  “Good luck to you.”

He climbed back into the bus, and carefully conducted a seven-point turn getting out of the dead end.  I watched as the bus reentered the dark tunnel, lights on well in advance this time.  I stood there until I couldn’t see the automobile anymore, and then some.  Sighing, I seized my luggage handle and started rolling across the street.  No one had yet appeared, and I wondered if I would need to locate the farm myself.  As I rounded the front of the broken down bus, I noticed the door had been left ajar.  I peeked in, hoping to glean something about my new home from this relic of what must have been the town’s better days.

“Hello!”  I nearly jumped out of my skin.  I spun around.  “You must be Emmaline.”

A middle aged red haired woman watched me open and shut my mouth like a fish, desperately trying to come up with an excuse as to why I was sticking my head in an old broken down bus.

She smiled.  “I’m Robin, the local carpenter.  We spoke through our letters?”

I mutely nodded.

“Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home.  He’s there right now, tidying things up for your arrival.”

_So that’s what happened to Lewis._

Robin was already walking.  Snatching up my bag, I hurried after her.  “The farm’s right over here, if you’ll follow me.” She threw the words over her shoulder.

We walked down a dirt path for a bit, in companionable silence.  It wasn’t long before the path ended in an open area, trees no longer blocking the view on either side. Robin pulled up short of the red-roofed cottage before us, and turned out to the expanse of what could only be described as wilderness before us.

“This is New Dawn Farm.”

My stomach turned as I more fully took in what was before me.  I don’t know what I had imagined, but this was not it.  Trees, weeds, and bushes covered the ground in front of me, and I thought I saw loose debris of branches and rocks scattered between them.  _This is going to be so much more work than I thought…_   I must have groaned out loud, because Robin turned to me.

“What’s the matter?”  My face must have displayed my devastation.  “Sure, it’s a bit overgrown, but there’s some good soil underneath that mess!  With a little dedication you’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”

She continued walking to stand in front of the house, and I followed her out of habit. “…And here we are, your new home.”  She smiled as she said this, and I could see the very real pride as she introduced me to the fruit of her labors. 

Lewis popped out of the house then.  “Ah, the new farmer!” he said with a beaming smile, his handlebar mustache dancing at the ends.  He marched down the stairs to stand next to me.  “Welcome!  I’m Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town.  You know, everyone’s been asking about you.  It’s not every day that someone new moves in.  It’s quite a big deal!”

He turned to stare at the house, a kind of sad reflective expression on his face.  “So… You’re moving into your grandfather’s old cottage.  It’s a good house… very ‘rustic’.”

We all turned to look back at the building in front of us.  I almost jumped a little when Robin guffawed out loud.  “Rustic? That’s one way to put it… ‘Crusty’ might be a little more apt, though.”

I turned to look at her, shocked.  I heard Mayor Lewis shouting “Rude!” behind me.

Robin continued to laugh, but said, “It’s a sound house, don’t get me wrong, but there’s only so much renovation one can do, and I don’t think the old man smell is ever going to leave this place entirely.”

“Don’t listen to her, Emmaline,” Lewis countered.  “She’s just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of her house upgrades.”

Robin stopped laughing abruptly, and harrumphed at the old man, crossing her arms and glaring from the corner of her eye.

Lewis ignored her.  “Anyway… You must be tired from the long journey.  You should get some rest.  Tomorrow you ought to explore the town a bit and introduce yourself.  The townspeople would appreciate that.”  Lewis began to leave, but turned suddenly, holding a finger in the air.

“Oh, I almost forgot.  If you have anything to sell, just place it in this box here.  I’ll come by to collect it.”  He smiled warmly.  “One of the perks of being the mayor- you’re also the mailman at five in the morning!  Well… Good luck!”  He waved, then continued towards what I assumed was town.

Robin began to leave as well, but I stopped her before she was too far.  “Wait, Ms. Wright!”

The woman turned towards me.  “First, it’s Robin, and I can confidently say that for the rest of the town too- we are a first name community.  Secondly, what’s up?”

“Ah, well, Robin.”  I awkwardly started again, “I have the money for the house.” 

Robin’s eyes lit up with recollection, “Oh, that’s right!” 

I pulled the money from my bag.  “I’m sorry it’s just in a plastic baggie…”  I was deeply embarrassed, but I didn’t trust the flimsy envelope the Bank of Joja teller had given me. 

Robin laughed.  I was getting the feeling she was an incredibly free spirited person.  “This is just fine!  Saves me a trip to the bank anyway!”

She eyed my suitcase.  “I don’t mean to pry,” she began, “but that’s a lot of dried ramen noodles.”

If the money didn’t have me blushing before then, her noticing my insane foodstuffs did.  I speedily zipped up my bag.  “Well, um, that is…”

My shoulders slumped in defeat.  “I don’t have much money, and I’m going to have to buy farming tools still.  My dad refused to let me leave Zuzu without food, so…”

Robin’s eyes softened, and I looked away, not wanting to see the pity in them.  Her hand on my shoulder made me raise my head quickly.

“Come with me Emmaline.  You’re eating dinner with me and my family tonight.”  She had grabbed my other shoulder, spun me, and was pushing me ahead of her before I could protest.  “Plus, I’m sure that we can scrounge up some tools for you from the old stuff Demetrius and I have in the shed.  I have so many axes, picks, and hoes I never use, and Dem’s a botanist, so I’m sure he has an extra watering can and sickle laying around.”

“Ms. Wright, Robin, I mean, that’s very kind, but I couldn’t…”

“You can, and you will, because I will not allow our new neighbor to eat ramen noodles her first night in town.”

I gave up fighting and let Robin push me forward.  I had been wrong.  This woman was not free-spirited, she was as stubborn as a freaking mule.

\--<>\--

“Fuck off!”  A door slammed.

_Well, that’s one kind of greeting, I suppose._

We had just rounded the corner of a large building, which Robin informed me was her home. 

Robin dropped her hands from my shoulders, and while I was relieved to have my freedom returned to me, the look in the woman’s eyes made me shrink back a step.

“Sebastian Parker!” She yelled.

The young man who had just slammed Robin’s front door cringed in the act of pulling up his hood.  Not turning fully to her, he responded, “Mom.”

“Get your ass over here right now!”  Robin seethed.

Hood dropping fully down to his back again, the black haired man completed his turn to face her, and in the process, saw me.  His eyes widened, and I noticed with some surprise they were a strange blend of grey and brown.   _What color is that?_   My view was cut short as he suddenly looked down, the motion splaying his hair across his face defensively. 

“Sebastian!”  Robin was advancing on him. “Did you just cuss out Demetrius _again_?!”

The man, Sebastian, said nothing, but stared at the ground. 

“At least you’re not lying to me.”  Robin sighed, the anger deflating out of her like a released balloon.  “What happened?”

“Little things.” Sebastian muttered.  “Don’t want to talk about them.”  A quick glance my direction brought Robin’s attention back to me.  She looked from me to her son.

“Okay.  That’s fine.  Just…”  She paused to consider her words.  “Be back and be ready to be civil in half an hour?  We’re having a guest for dinner.”

Sebastian nodded once, then turned and walked towards what smelled like a small lake nearby.  Robin rubbed two fingers over her temples.

“I’m very sorry for that, Emmaline.  I would love to say that’s not normal, but…”

I shook my head.  “No need to apologize, families are never perfect.”  I tried to sound lighthearted.

“Demetrius is Sebastian’s step-father.  I had Sebastian in college, before I even met Demetrius.  It was actually because of Sebby that we got together.  I saw how good Dem was with newborn Sebastian, and fell for him right then and there.”  A small smile played on Robin’s face.  “But enough reminiscing, I want you to meet Dem and Maru, my daughter.”

She led me into the house, and I could immediately see that it was also the hub of Robin’s business.  There were supplies in the corner, and a till and counter covered in blueprints and small model buildings. 

“As you may have guessed, we also work from home.” Robin pushed off her shoes, and I did likewise, albeit unenthusiastically.  I really would not have worn my Spirited Away socks if I had known I would be showing them off.  They were a present from Dad, but really not appropriate for trying to look like fully fledged adult… _Yoba, please just let me get through this without making a total fool of myself._

Robin gave me a quick tour of the house, showing me Demetrius’ lab, and pointing out Sebastian’s basement, and Maru’s bedroom, in case I ever “wanted to come over and hang out”.  A long hallway ended in a relatively small kitchen. 

Robin seemed embarrassed by the dishes that were piled next to the sink.  “Sorry, been pretty busy the last few days finishing up the cottage.”

Which of course made me feel responsible.  Dad’s words of “remember to pay it back and pay it forward Emmy” rang in my mind.

“Let me help you then!” I sputtered before I thought better of it.  Robin’s look of shock made me instantly doubt the correctness of the offer.

“You _want_ to _help_ me with the _dishes_?” I almost wanted to get the woman a chair before she fell over. 

But before I could do anything, the older woman had me in a bear hug.  “Oh!!  You’ll do just fine here Emmaline!  Better than fine!”  She pushed me back and held me at arm’s length, and I was surprised to see that she had the tiniest bit of moisture welling up in her eyes.  “You’re _exactly_ what we need right now.”

The enigmatic statement, in addition to the unexpected physical contact left me dazed and reeling as she whirled away from me to grab gloves and dish soap.  I gratefully took up the rinsing and drying station at the sink, and let the monotonous, familiar task lull me back into comfort.  We worked quietly for a few minutes, before being interrupted.

“Well now, who is this new pet my wife has dragged in and put to work?”

“Dem!”  Robin’s genuine excitement to see her husband made me look away.

“This is Emmaline- she’s the new farmer, the one I fixed up the cottage for.”

“Oh!”  Demetrius held out his hand.  “It’s very nice to finally meet you Ms. Avenell.”

I dried my hand quickly.  “Emmaline,” I smiled.  “Robin has told me it’s a first name kind of town.”

Demetrius had a deep laugh.  “That it is.”  He turned back to his wife.  “So, dinner?”

“Soon.” Robin poked Demetrius on the nose.  “We had a bit of cleaning to do before we could cook.  Bean hotpot and grilled fish?”

“Sounds delicious!  I’m going to go clean up.”  He walked out of the kitchen and disappeared into a bedroom.

Robin returned to the sink, and we quickly finished the remaining dishes.  “I hope you don’t mind something simple?”

“Not at all.  Home cooking is wonderful.  Although…” I blushed, afraid to let down this woman who seemed to have such high regard for me.  “I really don’t know how to cook anything.”

Robin simply beamed.  “No time like the present to learn then.”

I smiled back at her.  _Maybe this trip into Wonderland won’t be as bad as I thought…_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sorry there is still very little romance occurring! While I do consider this a romantic story, I also am really trying to work on my fiction writing skills! I want my characters to feel real, and have distinct personalities, and I'm trying to make my scenes descriptive. As my English major friend told me, you want readers to "see, smell, and feel" not "read" what you've written.
> 
> However, be ready for more Sebby/Emma interactions next chapter, awkward family dinners are awesome!
> 
> I personally can't tell based on the game art what color Sebastian's eyes are. Sometimes they look grey, sometimes dark brown. Apparently, that's a color. In acrylic paints, it's called raw umber. Wikipedia's page of "Shades of brown" is a good source to see it.
> 
> I know the general consensus is that the bus you came in on is the one that's broken, but it doesn't make much sense. Why would Stardew Valley send out their only bus to pick up one person? Especially since Lewis has a car. To me, it's much more likely that the player took a bus from the city, and Stardew's bus is from the same era when the community center was in full swing and the town had a lot more visitors. Also, Lewis coming at a set time before you wake up seems much less creepy to me than him being there in the middle of the night at some random point.
> 
> Please let me know what you think of my interpretation of Robin. She's likely going to be a major player in the story, so I'd love constructive criticisms!  
>   
> MOAR FEEDBACK  
> -MaraDin


	6. Lies of Omission

Chapter 5: Lies of Omission

by MaraDin

 

            I took a long drag of my cigarette as I stared out over the small lake.  The first day of spring was living up to its long-held position of the crappiest day of the year.  Other people spent their time smiling, laughing, and celebrating the beginning of a warmer season while I craved winter.  The trees were just starting to show tiny green and pink buds as their flowers developed.  I guess most people would have liked the look of it, but it just reminded me again how different I was from everyone else here in this stupid town, including my step-father.

I felt the dark anger sweep over me again, and I viciously kicked a rock into the lake before me.  “He doesn’t know anything about me!!” I hissed to myself.  “Who is he to lecture me about what I should do with my life?  He gave up on being my father a long time ago, he gets no say in what I do now.”  Still seething, I pulled in another lungful of smoke and calmed myself by counting down slowly as I blew it out.  _I have a job.  A good job._ Reassuring myself of the fact did little to help, but it reminded me of the steadily growing savings account that would one day take me to the city.  I wasn’t too far away from my goal, and with luck and some good freelance work, I’d be free of this place in a few months.  _That_ helped my mood.  I would pack up my backpack, get on my bike, and never look back. 

I had a twinge of regret at the thought of leaving Mom, but it passed quickly.  She would still have Maru, and _him_.  _And possibly whoever that new girl was?_

In my rush to get out of the house, I had almost forgotten the stranger following Mom.  _Maybe she’s a new client?_   Mom was diversifying her clientele, advertising in the neighboring towns, since everyone in Stardew pretty set for their carpentry needs.  It would make sense why Mom would want me to be civil.  I knew she didn’t think I could tell, but we weren’t exactly swimming in cash these days.  No one in Pelican Town was.  _This whole place is like three steps away from becoming a fucking ghost town._   The town gossip had been that with a Joja Mart coming in, we’d actually get some new customers, but so far the town seemed to just be getting worse.  We got people on the occasional festival, but other than that it was the same set of citizens, day in and day out.

I thought about ditching dinner, and going to find Sam.  I didn’t want to put on a “civil” act for Mom, even knowing the need for jobs.  If I was gone, I couldn’t screw anything else up, right?  I crushed the butt of my cigarette beneath my shoe, and headed down the path towards the house.  I’d grab Solarion Chronicles, and we could play a mission.  Sam’s door actually had a lock, so we probably wouldn’t be disturbed.  I was beginning to get excited about the possibility of having an enjoyable evening, when Maru appeared, coming up from town.

“Seb.” She greeted me kindly, but not enthusiastically as she caught up with me.  She shrugged when I didn’t answer, and held the front door open for me.  I walked in ahead of her, but as I turned to go into my room, she stopped me.

“Hey, I think I smell dinner.  Aren’t you coming?”

In the distance, I heard a chair scuff the wood floor of our kitchen.  “That would be Maru!”  I groaned as I realized my plans for slipping out of the house were about to be ruined.  Mom turned the corner and looked down the hallway at us.

“Oh, Sebby, you’re back too!”  She motioned for us to come to her.  “You guys are just in time for dinner.”

Maru strode down the hall towards the kitchen, and I dragged my feet following her.  If I disappeared now, I’d be in serious trouble.  _I’ll just not look at him.  Focus on the food, finish quickly, and excuse myself.  I’ll say I have work.  Even if she doesn’t get it, Mom at least takes that seriously._   I turned the corner, only to find my usual chair taken by Mom’s guest.  Against my better judgement, I raised my head to look at her.  Red-brown hair, much more brown than Mom’s, and about my age.  She was staring at me.  _Hazel._   I caught myself a second afterward.  _Shit!!_   I looked down again, and took the empty chair across from my spot, between Maru and Mom. 

I was unwittingly saved from further embarrassment by Maru.  “Hello!”  She stood up from her chair and reached her hand out over the platter of grilled fish. “I’m Maru!” 

“Um, Emmaline,” said the woman, taking my half-sisters hand and shaking it.  Maru sat, but continued to look at her expectantly, and after a moment of nervous fidgeting, she continued. “I’m the new farmer, at New Dawn Farm.  My grandfather was the previous owner, I just found out recently that he left it to me.”

Mom interjected with a grin, “The cottage I’ve been working on this last couple of weeks?  It’s for Emmaline!”  She said it like it was a huge birthday surprise.

It made sense, Mom had gone over there this morning to help Lewis with the last touches before the farmer showed up.  I just figured whoever was coming to clean up that piece of work would be… _I don’t know, buff?  Male?  Actually look like they knew what the hell they were doing when it came to farming?_   Not some young woman who looked like she had spent the last few years behind a desk and little time elsewhere. 

“Oh, that reminds me. Dem?”  My stepdad hummed in response.  “Do you have any sickles or watering cans you aren’t using anymore?  Emmaline said she doesn’t have any tools, and was going to spend her last cash reserves to buy them.  I told her I’m sure we had extra’s somewhere we could let go of.”

Demetrius appeared to ponder this for a moment.  “They’re pretty much crap, but I’m fairly certain I have one of each that still works.”  He looked directly at Emmaline.  “They really are terrible though.  Basic use stuff, no upgrades.”

You would have thought he had handed her the moon.  “That would be wonderful Mr. Wright, Demetrius, sorry!” She blushed, but looked between Mom and Demetrius with determination.  “Are you sure you won’t take any money for them?  I don’t want to inconvenience you…”  She trailed off at the look she got from Mom.

“Don’t you dare think of paying us a cent!  Like Dem said, the stuff we’re giving you we probably couldn’t even sell anyway!”

Maru laughed.  “She’s right you know, I’ve seen some of the stuff Dad hoards, and I’m sure you’re going to have to be running back and forth to fill up that can, with all the holes it’s got.”

“Maru!” Demetrius scolded lightly, but was smiling all the same.  _She can never do any wrong._

“Alright, alright.” Mom redirected our attention.  “Let’s say grace, then it’s time to eat before this food gets cold.”  Looking down, I stared at my hands in my coat pockets.

“Yoba, provider and protector of this home and family, we thank you for welcoming Emmaline into our community.  Bless this food that our guest helped prepare, and let her feel at home while she shares our table.  So let it be.”

“So let it be,” we intoned after her. 

I looked up, surprised to hear that our guest had cooked for us.  She was still looking down at her plate solemnly.  _What’s up with that?_ I wondered, but was interrupted in my reverie by Maru elbowing me with the request to pass serving spoon for the cooked green beans.  I did, and when I looked back at the woman, _Emmaline_ , I reminded myself, I saw she was watching the interaction between us with confusion. 

“Would you like some?” I hadn’t intended to talk tonight, but she was putting me off my guard.  It was hard to feel like the outsider with someone so obviously lost sitting across from me at the dinner table.  It’s like my situation didn’t meet the requirements of oddball-out when compared to hers.  She didn’t seem to know how to _eat dinner_.  _Okay, that’s absurd._ I ridiculed myself. _Of course she knows how._

Our gazes locked for a second, and she nodded slightly.  “Uh, sure, thank you.”  She picked up her plate and held it towards me.  Scooping some of the beans onto the plate, I reached my other hand out to steady the wobbling dish. 

“That’s fine!” she said suddenly, pulling the plate back before I could touch it.  Demetrius passed the platter of fish to her, and our communication ground to a halt.  I retreated into a bubble of silence, but watched with interest as she made polite small talk with Maru, Mom and Demetrius.  It just didn’t seem quite _right_.  Something was definitely off about this one.  

_Emmaline, why do you remind me of…_ me _?_

\--<>\--

She left the house burdened with a new small rucksack of Maru’s and old shitty tools.  She looked ecstatic.  I stood by the top of the stairs down to the basement, watching as Mom and Maru sent her off.

“You come back whenever you want!” Mom told her at the door.  “You are always welcome here!  We love visitors!”

“Seriously!” Maru added.  “It’s nice to have another girl my age around here, you know?  Especially since you don’t live too far down the road!”  My half-sister smiled widely.  “None of the other girls in town really want to do anything that could get them dirty, so we’re two of a kind out here.”

Emmaline smiled one of the few truly genuine smiles I had seen that night.  The first had been at one of Demetrius’ corny puns, and the second one of embarrassed pride when Maru playfully complemented her Spirited Away socks as they headed out to Mom’s shed.  _When did I start counting smiles?_ I shook my head, and went down to my room as the conversation between the women wrapped up. 

She hadn’t been down here, but if she had, Emmaline might not have felt so self-conscious about her socks.  My bookcase full of graphic novels and video games, plus the scattering of Solarion Chronicles and its expansions on my table should be clue enough that we probably shared a few fandoms.  My “geeky hobbies” as Maru put it, were not shared with the rest of my family, or even totally with my friends.  Abigail played console, and Sam was up for board games, but mostly it was just me and the PC master race. 

It was too late to head over to Sam’s at this point, so I changed into my sweats and sleeping tee.  Slipping onto my stool in front of my work computer, I pulled up the chat log.  Roshan was online still, which was no surprise.

**S.Parker: Any new jobs posted yet?**

**R.Nayar: No man**

**R.Navar: you seriously that desperate for work?**

**S.Parker: Just like to keep busy.**

**R.Nayar: How’s the moving convo going with the rents?**

**S.Parker: Nonexistent.  They still don’t know I’m planning on leaving.**

**R.Nayar: seriously dude!?**

**R.Nayar: you’re going to have to tell them soon.  You’ve got to be close**

**S.Parker: I know.  I am.  But it’s not like any of them would care anyway.**

**R.Nayar: Stop being so melodramatic and full of shit**

**R.Nayar: I take it back- keep the shit, just get it together.  we need you out here man**

**R.Nayar: this long distance setup makes all the jobs take longer**

**S.Parker: Then get me more jobs.  I’m out of here as soon as I’ve got the cash for it.**

**R.Nayar: i’m on it.  Hey, you’re bringing your bike, right?**

**S.Parker: Yeah, I was planning on it.**

**R.Nayar: OK here’s a small freelance job we were thinking of turning away.  Some small business guy wants a website designed**

**R.Nayar: he’s already got the graphics from a designer, they just need coding help.**

**S.Parker: On it.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow Rosh.**

**R.Nayar: Later peeps**

I signed off from the chat, and opened the email Roshan sent me.  It was what he said, some web designer running into a problem with coding.  I opened the source, and found the problem.  Working with code was relaxing, and having the finish product click into place felt like finally solving one of those knot puzzles.  This error turned out to be simple, likely from the designer trying to fix something himself and screwing it up.  I logged the changes I had made, and attached my invoice to the email I sent back to Roshan. 

I was stretching when I head a knock on my door.  “Come in?” I said hesitantly, glancing at my clock.  It was only around ten, but that was late for the rest of the household.

“Sebby?”  Mom poked her head around my door.  “Can I talk with you?”

I forced down a groan, and nodded.  Mom took a seat on my other stool before speaking again.  “I just came from talking with Dem.”  She paused, seeing the agitation build on my face.  So much for the relaxing feeling from coding before bed.

She raised one hand to stop my defensive outburst.  “He told me his side, I want to hear yours.  He doesn’t understand why you blew up at him.”

“Mom, do we seriously have to do this?  I’m twenty-one, meaning he and I are both adults.” I looked at her pointedly.  “If he wants to talk it out, he should come here.”

She expertly reflected my own look back at me.  “You know exactly what would happen in that case.”

I shrugged, but complied with her request.  “He asked me to go help you at the cottage.  I was working.  He claimed I wasn’t.”

I continued when she stayed silent. “I told him I wasn’t going to go, I was busy.  He…”  I looked down.  “He said that if he asked Maru, she would do it, because she actually cares about you.  I walked out, and you found me after that.”  My shoulder slumped, not because Demetrius had said anything really true, but because I still felt guilty about my moving plans being secret.

Mom hugged me then.  “Oh honey.  I know you love me.”  She mussed my hair with her fingers.  “Not quite the story Dem gave me, but between the two I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened.  You _both_ need to hold your tempers better.”

I didn’t try to defend myself, I knew she was right.  It wasn’t often, and really only with Demetrius that I lost it like I had this afternoon, but I did storm out of the house cussing at him.  I gave her a quick hug back, wanting to end the conversation.  “Thanks Mom.”

“You are welcome.”  She looked at my still glowing computer screen.  “I know it’s probably foolish to hope, but bed soon?”

Raking my fingers through my hair in an attempt to somewhat straighten it out, I told her I would.  Surprisingly, I was actually tired, mentally and socially exhausted from everything going on.  As Mom slipped my door closed, I crossed my room to flop onto my bed.  Yanking the blankets over myself, I let my mind wander towards sleep.

The dream started almost before I was completely out, and the last thing on my mind before blissful unconsciousness was the memory of a pair of hazel eyes staring back at mine.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first Sebastian POV! Please give feedback for this, please, please, please! For whatever reason, I'm having a really hard time doing his character analysis, he's too dependent on his relationship with others to define who he is, and I am totally open for people's ideas! (Especially if my writing inspired you to think them- help my conscious know what my unconscious does!)
> 
> I also apologize for any errors I may have made, I'm actually getting through an illness, as well as midterms. (Not a good combination.) Also apologies for the brevity of chapter. Really meant it to be longer, but was feeling guilty not posting anything while the majority of this was just sitting on my computer.
> 
> Next chapter will be introducing more Pelican Town residents to the mix! Including one very specific tall blonde! ;)  
> -MaraDin


	7. New Places, New Faces

Chapter 6: New Places, New Faces

by MaraDin

 

            It was dark and cold.  Wind blew outside, creaking the old house around me and awaking deeply buried memories that were better left locked in their prison far down in my subconscious.  My shoulder hurt, and I felt small.

“Emmaline?”  An unfamiliar pounding repeated itself a few yards from my head.

“Mama?”  My groggy brain panicked.  “Mama, I’m up!  I promise!” I hoarsely shouted.

I struggled briefly with my blankets and gasped as my feet hit cold, rough wooden planks.  The shock sent me sprawling to my hands and knees, but likewise succeeded in fully waking me to the present day and the insistent knocking on my front door.

“Coming!” I shouted to it.  I forced my hands through my hair, trying to tame some of the chaos, then pulled open the door.

“Maru?”  I squinted at her without understanding.  “It’s like seven in the morning.  The sun isn’t even up yet.”  The rays easily peaking over the horizon denoted my status as a complete liar.

She was dressed in a nurse’s uniform, holding a basket, and smiling.  It was far too early for smiling.

“I brought you breakfast!”  She looked in the tiny homestead behind me.  “Are you not using your fireplace?”  She glanced back at me, and noted the gooseflesh that I was trying to rub off my arms.  “You’re freezing, aren’t you.”  Her tone seemed to indicate I had disappointed her.

Pushing her way inside despite my mumbled objections, she placed the basket of what must be breakfast on my small table, then went outside again.  Within a few moments, a fire was burning in the fireplace, lighting up the house, and starting to melt the ice from my limbs.

“I came to bring breakfast, since I knew you didn’t have any, but also to take you with me to the clinic so we could get your health history registered.  We don’t want an emergency just to find out you’re three years late on your tetanus shot!”

I saw her mother in her as she ushered me to my chair, placed a mug of hot tea in my hand, and placed a scone on a plate in front of me.  I looked down at the mug in amazement.  _When did she make tea?  Do I even have a kettle?  She is_ definitely _Robin’s daughter, she’s too…_

“Are you listening Emmaline?”  Maru’s voice startled me into looking up.

“What?  I’m sorry, no.  To be honest, I’m not much of a morning person.”

Maru smiled lightly.  “That has become very obvious this morning.”  She picked a blueberry off of her scone.  “You know, you might want to look into an alarm clock if you really want to make this farming thing successful.  Early bird gets the worm and all.”

I groaned.  “I thought that was one of the benefits of living in the country, no artificial wake up times.”

“Only for those of us lucky enough to have reliable internal timepieces.” 

Swallowing a bite of my scone, I changed the subject.  “Thank you for bringing me breakfast.”  As nice as Maru was, I could do without the unconscious barb at my lack of timeliness.

“You’re welcome!  Didn’t you mention last night you were planning on introducing yourself to everyone today?”

“Yeah, Mayor Lewis suggested it.”

“People would like that, and I’m sure it would go a long way to dispel rumors.”

I started at this.  “There are rumors about me?”

Maru laughed.  “Of course.  Not bad ones, but our town hasn’t had a new person for over five years.  Not since Leah moved to town, and she’s always been a bit of a recluse.”

I mulled over the idea of spending a day introducing myself while staring down at the dwindling tea in my mug.  “Will,” I hesitated, “Would you be willing to come with me?”

It sounded weak, but better to look the idiot in front of one person instead of everyone.

Maru gently placed her hand over mine laying on the table in a comforting gesture.  “I can’t, I’m sorry.”  She looked sincere.  “I have to get to work soon, but I’ll at least accompany you that far, and introduce you to Doctor Harvey.  I booked you as the first appointment for today.” 

She stood, and began to repack the breakfast supplies she had pulled from the basket.  “You’ll like Harvey, he’s very kind, and a great physician.”  Closing the basket’s lid, Maru turned to me.  “I’ll run this home to give you some time to get ready to go.  See you in twenty?”

“Um, sure.  That sounds fine.” I put down my mug and saw her to the door.  A short wave later I was on the floor of my small cabin, back against the door and legs sprawled out in front of me.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

\--<>\--

Somehow, the idea that I didn’t have running water or a _shower_ had not crossed my mind until I had unpacked my soap, shampoo, and razor, and stood looking baffled at the plain wooden walls of my small abode.  The result of this discovery meant that on top of meeting a town full of new people, and having my first new doctor’s appointment, I would have to do it smelling like old sweat.  _At least I’ll be consistent from here on out.  Oh the wonders of farm life- eau de cow pie._

I snorted at my own joke, which caused Maru to look curiously over at me as we walked down the dirt path away from New Dawn.  She had been punctual to the second it seemed, knocking on my door as I scrambled to pull my hair back into a semi-decent ponytail using the reflection of my television screen.  She had assured me that I looked fine, and reminded me that she needed to hurry to make it to work on time.  As we scooted out the door, I gave one last longing glance at my bed.

“You’ll probably do best to go knocking on doors after your appointment.  While most people are early risers around here,” she glanced at me meaningfully, “They wouldn’t appreciate you stopping by until at least nine.  Gives them time to be prepared, you know?”

I nodded, desperate to learn the social etiquette of this new environment.  “What about businesses?”

“Usually the same.  Most have the times posted somewhere around the door, we do get visitors on festival days occasionally.”  The dirt path turned suddenly to cobbled street.  “Speaking of businesses, up ahead is our stop.”  She motioned forward to a white building with a copper colored roof.

“This is the clinic!”  Maru proudly held open the blue door for me, and I walked in to a waiting room that smelled of disinfectant.  The white tile gleamed reflections of a speckled mint green wallpaper, but overall, the feeling was more welcoming than institutional.

“Please, have a seat while I go let the doctor know you’re here.”  Waved to a blue plastic seat, I obediently took my place and watched Maru disappear behind a door that looked like it belonged more in a diner than a medical clinic.  The potted plants gave off a damp earth smell, and I was surprised to realize that they were real, not fake.  A broad leafed miniature tree sat beneath an unused television.  I looked for a remote, but didn’t find any.  Returning to my seat, I tried to calm my hands from their nervous repetitive movement.  It didn’t work, and in an aggravated moment of trying to regain some control, I sat on them with a “humph”.

Which of course, is exactly when Doctor Harvey Monier opened the door to the waiting room and looked up from the paper full of information I had given Maru on our walk into town. 

“Ah, Miss Avenell?”

_Shit._

I bounced out of the chair like it had bit me.  “Doctor Monier!”  I thrust my hand out nervously.  “Very nice to meet you!  I’m the new farmer at New Dawn Farm!”  _Too strong Emmy, too strong…_

Harvey took my hand in his and shook it firmly, but not uncomfortably.  Releasing it, he turned towards the back.  “Please follow me, and we can discuss more in the exam room.”

I followed him silently, berating myself for blundering through this first impression.  This guy was the town doctor, and I’d already managed to make a complete fool out of myself.  _What if everyone looks up to him?  What if he writes me off, and so do they?_   The panic started to build.

“Please have a seat.”  I hadn’t noticed we had entered another room.  _Must be the exam room._   Maru entered shortly after, and my panic subsided somewhat.  She took my vitals, and then left with a encouraging smile and nod.

“Miss Avenell,” Harvey began.

“Emmaline.” I interjected.

Harvey just bobbed his head in assent.  “If that’s what you prefer.  I can see that your time spent last night at Maru’s has introduced you to at least our informal way of greeting around here.”

 “It has.”

“Well then.  Looking at your chart, you seem to be up to date on all your necessary vaccines and medical procedures, the only thing I could advise is possibly extra physical activity.”  He glanced up and grinned slightly at this, his brown eyes glinting slightly behind his thick glasses.  “But I have a feeling that will take care of itself with your recent career change.”

I blushed, but nodded.  Harvey wasn’t bad looking, but a little old for me.  Maru knocked on the door, peering inquisitively through the oval window.  The doctor motioned her into the room.  “Please see Emmaline to the front desk to complete checkout, Nurse Maru?”

“Of course Doctor.” 

The formality between the two was real, but not unsociable.  They took this job seriously, even when they knew every patient on a personal level.  It was strangely reassuring to see.  I followed Maru out of the exam room.

“So?  What did you think?  He’s nice, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” 

“Meeting everyone else in town will go just as smoothly!”  She showed me out the door and told me to wait in front of the desk while she went around the back.

“Okay, barring any injuries or medical concerns, we’ll see you back here in a year!”  She paused, and looked up from the files on the desk with a frown.  “Obviously, I expect to see you here sooner for non-medical reasons.  It can get pretty slow when you have a town of about thirty people.”

“I’d bet” I responded.  I glanced behind me at the door.  “I’m good to go now though?  Not that I really want to.”

“Yes, you are, and if you don’t, I’m going to kick you out myself.” Maru put a hand on her hip in mock indignation.  “Get out and introduce yourself!”

“Alright, alright!” I teased back.  Hand hesitating above the doorknob, I turned back to her.  She must have seen the worry in my eyes.

“You’ve already gotten through one meal with Seb, he’s literally the hardest person to talk to in this town, you’ll be fine.”

I thought of the brooding young man from the night before and had to agree.  “You’re right.”  I turned the knob and opened the door.

“Good luck!”

\--<>\--

I turned left to follow the chain of buildings next to the clinic, stopping as I eyed a weathered laminated calendar tacked on a noticeboard.  Unfamiliar names were scrawled on dates, along with two dates noting an “Egg Festival” and “Flower Dance”.   I tried to make a mental note of the dates, not wanting to miss a town event.  Next to the calendar was a small notice, someone named Jodi wanted seaweed for a stew.  Kids stickers and torn off corners of paper littered the board around the notice.

“Hello!”  A woman interrupted my investigation of the note.  Turning towards her, I saw the glass door of the building beside us swing closed.  “You must be Emmaline, the new farmer.  I’m Caroline.”  Her green hair stood out brightly in the morning sun, arms full of gardening supplies.  “My husband runs the general store here.  And have you met my daughter, Abigail? She's the pale one with the purple hair.” 

“Hi!  Yes, I’m the new farmer.  Nice to meet you Caroline.  I indicated the shop, “So, this is the general store?”

“Indeed it is!”  She lifted her arms full of seedlings in starter pots.  “I was just going to put out the spring flowers in the planters.  Why don’t you go on in and meet Pierre and Abigail?”  Smiling, she turned and began work on the hanging flower basket.

I pushed the glass door open, and stood looking around the small shop.  A sturdy new backpack caught my attention, and I went to inspect it.  Picking it up and looking for a price tag, I nearly dropped it when I found the price.  _2000G?_   I carefully put it back on the shelf, and became even more grateful for the small travel backpack Maru had donated to me.

I barely had warning before an eager looking man shuffled his way around the counter and threw his arms out.  _Does he want a hug or something?_   I shifted away uneasily.

“Hey, it’s Ms. Emmaline, the new farmer!  I’m Pierre, owner of the local general store.  If you’re looking for seeds, my shop is the place to go.  I’ll also buy produce from you for a good price!”  Thankfully, he lowered his arms then, and smiled warmly at me.  “Is there anything I can get you started with this fine day?”

“Uh, no, but thank you.  I’m actually just introducing myself today.  I met your wife outside.”

“Caroline!  She’s wonderful!  You need to meet my daughter then!  Go on through that back door then, and you’ll find her in the kitchen most likely.  My little girl is a bit of a late riser these days!” 

I began backing away slowly from the counter.  “Thank you, sir.”

“Purple hair, you can’t miss her!”

“Yes, thank you!”  I scurried towards the back door he had indicated, hearing a low chuckle from between the isles of dry good as I fled.

As I closed the door swiftly behind me, I turned to find myself looking into a great open room with cushions scattered around a large fireplace, crackling logs burning merrily in the hearth.  Even with the large fire, the room was drafty.  I warmed myself briefly with its heat before picking up the sound of a spoon striking the edge of a bowl.  _Someone eating cereal?_   I sidestepped a few feet, and glanced into the kitchen in time to see a girl my age stand and lean to place a bowl in the sink.  She was dressed in a gothic punk style, kind of morbid, but she really pulled it off.

“Abigail?”  I heard myself ask.  The young woman dropped the bowl with a clatter into the metal sink. 

“What the shit?!”  She, who was most definitely Abigail, responded very appropriately for the situation, twisting around to see who had intruded on her in her own home.

“Oh!  I’m sorry!”  I held my hands up awkwardly in front of me.  “Sorry, sorry!”  Abigail glared at me.

“Your dad said to find you here.” I said lamely before a shred of my wits came back to me.  “I’m Emmaline, the new farmer.  You know, at the farm.” _Oh Yoba save me._

“No shit.  I heard someone was moving onto that old farm.”

“Well, hi, that’s me.”  I waved my hand once.  “I’ll… just go now.”

“Yeah.”

I turned and walked back to the door to the general store.  _That went_ tremendously _well, Emmy.  Just stupendously.  You are doing a wonderful job of making friends here._   I edged my way around the back of the store, avoiding Pierre’s line of sight.  Somehow, I knew there would be a conversation about how I got along with his daughter that I just didn’t want to have right now.  Slipping out the front door, I was relieved to not find Caroline outside working on the flowers, but not as relieved to find my face stuffed unexpectedly into the large bosom of an older woman.

“Sorry!”  I spluttered as I hurled myself backwards.  I looked up into a tall, solidly built woman’s eyes, glinting with repressed humor.

“Ah, Mayor Lewis told me you just arrived.” She beamed a smile at me.  “I’m Marnie!” 

“Hello Marnie, Emmaline.”  Thoroughly beet red, I put my hand out.  She shook it robustly.

“Well Miss Emmaline, we are neighbors, so you know, and I believe we’ll likely be doing quite a bit of business together.  I run the Valley’s only ranch, and my stocks are the best lines of animals you’ll find in over a hundred miles.  I figure you’ll want to jump in on some of the product money, and don’t worry,” she winked at me, “most of my income comes from my breeding programs, so we won’t be in competition.”  

I was still trying to orient myself after my altercation with Abigail, and now this embarrassment, and Marnie’s rush of information left me gaping senselessly at her as my brain chugged.

“Let me guess, you just met Pierre.”  I nodded.  “Then it’s time for a drink!”

I puzzled at this for a moment.  “It’s ten in the morning.”

The large woman paused.  “Hmm, right you are.  Then we’re off to Lewis’.”  With a firm squeeze to my shoulder, Marnie led the way to the Mayor’s house.

\--<>\--

“And that’s been my morning Mayor.”

“Well, it certainly seems like you’ve been making good on your promise to meet everyone.”  His whiskers shifted as he sipped at his coffee.  “But don’t overdo it, Emmaline, there will be plenty of time to meet everyone as you grow the farm.”

“I understand, but I’d rather just get it all done and out of the way if possible.”

Lewis nodded, turning to Marnie.  “Now Marnie, why don’t you accompany Emmaline and stop by the Kimbrel’s and Hale’s on your way home, and see if you can’t get Leah to take a moment to come say hi as well?”

“Now there’s an idea!”  She turned to me.  “Would that be alright by you?”

“It would be wonderful.  I’m honestly a bit worried about a repeat of the mess I made with Abigail.”

Lewis patted my arm comfortingly.  “Don’t worry about it too much, I’m sure it will smooth over quickly.  Abigail has always been a free spirit, I doubt she’ll hold a grudge.”  _I’m not so sure about that._

Marnie pushed her chair away from the table, and cleared our mugs.  Mayor Lewis started up after her.

“Sit down Lewis.  I’ve got this.”  The large woman efficiently washed the few dishes.  I watched as she grabbed the dish soap without looking for it.  _She’s very familiar with the Mayor’s house._   Lewis cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable at having someone else do the dishes in his own home. 

“Alrighty then.”  Marnie wiped her hands dry on a nearby hand towel.  “Lewis, we’re off, thank you for the coffee.”

“Yes, thank you Mayor.” I added quickly. 

We were on our way out when Marnie stopped, suddenly.  “Oh!  Forgot!”  Her finger raised in their air matched her raised eyebrows.  “One moment Emmaline.”  She turned back through the doorway.  “Lewis!”  I heard a positive sounding reply.  “Friday?”  Another reply, but this sounded more like a splutter.  Marnie closed the door with a devilish grin, and caught me staring.

“Well, let’s get a move on girl!”

I decided something then.  _This woman is odd._

\--<>\--

Meeting the Kimbrel’s was comparatively uneventful compared to the previous interactions I’d had this morning.  The first young woman, Haley, was around my age, but seemed to meet every checklist for superficial blonde I’d ever seen online. 

“Oh… You’re that new farmer girl, or whatever. Aren’t you?”  She hadn’t even waited for an answer, and returned to flipping through her magazine lazily on the couch. 

“Nice to meet you too.”  I followed Marnie into the kitchen where a blue haired woman worked with a broom. 

“Heyo Emily!” Marnie boomed.  “Got someone you should meet, the new farmer up on the northwest edge of town!”

She leaned the broom against the counter and scrutinized me.  “Ooh!... I can read it on your face.  You’re going to love it here in Pelican Town.  If you’re ever looking for something to do in the evening, stop by the saloon.  That’s where I work!”  A brilliant smile lit up her face, and I couldn’t help but feel more at ease.  “We have food, drinks, and even a small game area, and music for dancing, if you’re into that.”

“Thank you, I’ll consider it.”  I smiled back.  Haley harrumphed from the couch.

“That place is so dead.”

Emily’s face darkened.  “How would you know Haley?  It’s not like you ever go.”

“And why would I?  Like I said, boring to all hell.”

Marnie sidled to me as the sister’s argument started to heat up, guided me around the two and out the front door.

“They fight a lot, better just to let them get it out.”  Marnie whispered as we closed the door lightly behind us.  “Come on, let’s introduce you to the Hale’s.”

As we rounded the garbage can and light post, Marnie stopped me again.  “Oh!  Look at our luck!”

She jogged a few steps away from me, and waving her arm above her head called out, “Leah!”

I saw a woman who had been critically eyeing a log in the middle of the town’s shallow river.  She looked up as Marnie called out, and waved back, straightening up and coming over to join us. 

Marnie introduced me.  “Leah, this is Miss Emmaline Avenell, she’s the new farmer in the Valley.”  I felt like a prize cow being shown to a judge.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”  Her voice was mild but distracted, and I got the feeling Leah would be someone I could get along with, if I could keep her attention.  “You picked a good time to move here…  The spring is lovely.”

Turning to me, Marnie said, “Leah is my neighbor to the south, so she’s pretty close to the farm too!  I’m sure you’ll see a lot of her!”

I put on my most welcoming face.  “I hope we can be good neighbors then!”

Leah nodded her head.  “I’m sure we will.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to meet Elliot.”

“Of course, of course!  We’ve got our own agenda as it is!”  Marnie patted my shoulder roughly and moved on.  I followed after a brief wave of goodbye to Leah.

As I neared the house, I heard the strumming of a guitar drifting out of the front open window.  A simple set of pop chords repeated themselves as we approached and knocked on the front door.  A young child opened it rapidly. 

“Miss Penny!”

He looked crestfallen at the sight of me and Marnie.  “Oh.  Hi Miss Pendleton.”  His spirits lifted briefly as he peered around us.  “Is Jas with you?”

“Sh…” Marnie caught herself mid-curse.  “No, but I wanted to introduce you to the new member of town.  Go get your mom kiddo?”

The little boy shrugged, then went further into the house calling for his mother.

Marnie turned to me.  “I’ve got to go, I completely forgot I’ve got to get Jas, my great niece, ready for school today.”  The older woman looked genuinely distressed.  “I’m really sorry to leave you like this, but Jodi is really a nice lady, and her son Sam is around your age, though he’s a goofball.  I’ve really got to go though.”

“Go then,” I told her, “but I want to meet your great niece here soon!”  I tried to look confident, even though I didn’t feel it.

“Thanks for understanding Missy.”  With another of her harsh shoulder pats, Marnie lumbered out of the house, leaving me looking longingly at the door through which she had disappeared.  Odd as she was, it was like having my own personal bodyguard for social interactions with her around.

“Oh well…” I muttered.

“Hey stranger?”  I nearly jumped out of my skin at the small voice around waist height behind me.  I turned and looked down.  Bright red hair and brown eyes gazed back at me.  “Miss Pendleton said we were ‘introducing’.  That means I tell you my name, and you tell me yours.  My name’s Vincent.  Momma says not to talk to strangers… but you seem okay.”

“Hello Vincent.”  I put my hand down to him.  “My name is Emmaline.”

We were shaking hands when a woman came in from the back room.  “Oh!”  She moved up by her son. “You aren’t exactly how I imagined… but that’s okay!  I’m Jodi.  It’s a quiet little town, so it’s very exciting when someone new moves in!  Having a farmer around could really change things.”  She motioned to the couch.  “Please, have a seat, would you like anything to drink or eat?”

“Cheese stick!” Vincent piped up as we sat.

“You’re about to leave for school, you don’t need a cheese stick.  Plus, there’s one in your lunch.”  Vincent’s shoulder’s slumped momentarily, but he quickly popped up off the couch as he heard a knock at the door.

Yanking it open with as much exuberance as the first time, the boy started jumping up and down when he saw a young woman with neatly styled red hair waiting on the other side.

“Miss Penny!!” 

“Hello Vincent.  Are you ready to learn today?”

“Yes!”

“Go get your lunch, and we can go pick up Jas.”

“Okay!”  Vincent made a beeline for the back room.

“Good morning Penny,” Jodi smiled at her.

“Good morning Mrs. Hale.” The woman, Penny, turned to me and held out her hand.  “I’m sorry, I haven’t had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”

“Oh, hi!  I’m Emmaline, the new farmer at New Dawn.”

“Pleasure to meet you Emmaline.”

Vincent ran back into the room, paper sack grasped in his hand and backpack slung haphazardly over his shoulder.  “Ready to learn Miss Penny!”

Jodi reached out to him.  “Kiss for the road little man?”

The child ran up to his mother and kissed her on the cheek.  Jodi ruffled his hair. “Be good today, and learn a lot!”

“I will!”  Penny closed the door behind them, and as she did I caught her snaking out a hand to grab Vincent before he attempted to climb into the flower pot next to the front door.

Jodi shook her head.  “Penny is an amazing young woman.  She volunteered to teach Jas and Vincent, as the town can’t use the bus to transport them to the closest school, and we just don’t have enough money to hire a tutor from Zuzu.  Marnie and I put together a small salary for her, but it isn’t much.”

I considered my next statement for a moment before I said it.  “It doesn’t seem like the town is doing great, is it.”

Jodi frowned.  “No, it isn’t.  My husband couldn’t find work here or in the nearby areas, and ended up join the military.  It pays well, but…”

Not many people talked about the Gotoro Empire’s attack, but it was daily part of the news.  A gruesome war that most people didn’t come back from.

“I appreciate his service to the country.”  I meant it, but it sounded hollow.  There was a reason people didn’t talk about the war, we were losing, and everyone knew it.

Jodi smiled grimly.  “He did what he had to.”  She brushed her hands down her pants a few times and stood.  “I’ve got to head out soon, but before I do, I should introduce you to the last member of our family, my son Sam.”  She led me to one of the doors off the living room.  “He’s practicing his music right now, but I don’t think he’ll be too bothered by a brief interruption.”

She knocked twice, and opened the door enough to stick her head in.  “Sam?  Can I come in?”

The guitar didn’t stop, but drifted into a gentle strumming.  “Sure Mom, come on in.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha? Cliffhanger?
> 
> I know, not really one. But I felt this just didn't need another few pages of Emmaline and Sam's first interaction. Save that for its own (possibly mini) next chapter. 
> 
> I am so sorry this took so long. First, I couldn't figure out how to start the chapter, then I was trying to figure out how to introduce all these people in one chapter without it seeming formulaic. AND I'M STILL SO FAR FROM DONE!!!! Whether anyone cares or not, most of the introduction lines come straight from the game, with as little alteration as possible. I really love the game, but it needs more story/character fleshing out in my opinion.
> 
> Please let me know if any of the characters seem way OOC, I did take a lot of liberties with Marnie, but I've always seen a lot of my Southern relatives in her character for some reason, and wanted to add them in.
> 
> The next chapter will be much more quickly up, possibly even tomorrow if things go as planned. Be prepared for some unintentional romance!
> 
> PS- how is it 11 pages when I type it, and yet it seems so short when I post it?? T_T


	8. The Sound of Music

Chapter 7: The Sound of Music

by MaraDin

 

I wouldn’t know it for a long time, but this was the real first day of my life. 

She walked in after Mom, hesitant, with her hands held together in front of her.  I stood there staring like an idiot, my hand posed to pick out the next chord from the strings.

Mom indicated the unknown girl.  “This is Emmaline.  She’s the new farmer on the northwest edge of town.  She’s come by to introduce herself.  Could you take a minute out of your practice to say hi?”

“Uh, yeah.  One sec.”  I put my guitar down on its stand.  “Hey, I’m Sam.  Good to meet you.”  I held my hand out, figuring that was the right thing to do.

She shook it, our eyes meeting only fleetingly.  _Wow, she’s sure shy._   _I guess I would be too though, in her situation.  She’s moved somewhere completely foreign._   An idea popped into my head.  “Hey, Mom, I know you’ve got your thing with Caroline soon, but,” I turned to the new girl, “you’re welcome to stay if you want.”

That got her.  She looked back up at me, eyes wide with something I couldn’t decipher.  _Terror?  Excitement?_   I saw her glance at Mom for any clue as to how to respond before she said, “I really wouldn’t want to intrude on your practice.  Your mom says you’re pretty serious about your music.”

“I am, and that’s why I need new ears.  Everyone in town has listened to me at least once, and I could use your feedback too.”  I felt proud of myself.  No one deserved to feel like an outsider, and she was definitely nervous.  _Of the few things I know I’m amazing at, making people comfortable is one of my top ten,_ I decided.  I smiled at her.  _Today’s goal- make a new friend!_

“Well, if you really don’t mind, sure, I guess I can stay.”

Mom was smiling proudly as she said, “That’s very kind of you Sam.  I’ll leave you kids to it then!”  She hugged me and left.  An awkward silence filled the space she had left and slowly began to fill the room.

I cleared my throat inelegantly.  “I, uh, I only do covers right now.  I’m trying to find my own style to start writing music for the band.”  She looked at me expectantly, so I continued.  “It’s really small right now, just me and Sebastian experimenting.  I can play any part, but guitar is my strongest.”

Following her gaze to the keyboard and drums, I asked, “Do you play?”

“No, unfortunately.  My dad was really into music, and tried to get me to learn piano, but my mom said we didn’t have the money.”  She seemed to be mentally distant as she stated this.  “Dad always made me sing along while he played though.”  Her attention snapped back suddenly with a blush.  “But I’m not good at it.”

“Well, no one’s good without practice,” I said reassuringly.  “Anyway, take a seat anywhere.”  I motioned to the bed, then though better of it, and pulled my rickety desk chair out for her. 

I pulled my guitar strap over my shoulder and grabbed my pick up off the bookcase.  I had been practicing this for a few days now, but it wasn’t as polished as my normal performances.  My fingers trembled as I struck the first few chords, but my confidence returned as I let the music take me as it always did.  The notes flowed freely from my fingers, and the melody swept away my remaining apprehension.  It’s always like this, once I start playing, or singing, it doesn’t matter what else is going on around me, I drift away into the music.  I felt a smile spread across my face.  I looked at Emmaline, who had settled into the desk chair and was now tapping her foot along with the tempo of the song.  _She looks so much more relaxed!_

 _“You're a falling star, you're the getaway car.”_   I caught her eyes.  She gazed back.

 _“You're the line in the sand when I go too far.”_   A small smile broke out on her face.

 _“You're the swimming pool, on an August day.”_   I winked, and I think she blushed.

 _“And you're the perfect thing to say.”_  

I continued the song, reveling in her delighted appearance.  She had seemed so tense when she first came in here, but she appeared to have let some of that go with the music.  She’d even laughed when my theatrics had me standing on the bed.  Her auburn hair grew redder in the light streaming in my window, and it made the green tint in her eyes shine, although that might have been my imagination. 

 _“So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la…”_   I held the last note as I picked the last chord, leaning on the desk next to where Emmaline sat.  She was looking up at me with such a sincere expression of gratitude that made my face hot.  I rapidly pushed myself away from the desk and placed my guitar back in its stand.

“So, what did you think?”  I tried to look chill, but I never could pull that off as well as Bas. 

“You were great!”  She smiled brightly.  “Your voice really fits the style and range of the song, but I get the feeling you weren’t really pushing yourself with this one.  And your guitar was on point too.”  Her smile became melancholy, prompting me to take a step towards her.  “Honestly, thank you for sharing your music with me.  I’ve had kind of a crazy morning, and was starting to feel really overwhelmed and wondering if I had made a mistake by coming here.”

“No!”  I moved the rest of the way to her.  “I’m glad you’re here.”  _Though I’m not sure what just drove me to grab your hand…_

I dropped Emmaline’s hand like it was a hot potato.  “Sorry.”  I ran my hand through my hair, my favorite nervous gesture.  “I… get carried away.”

Surprising me, she put her hand to her mouth, and giggled.  “I kind of caught that when you were jamming out on your bed.”

Hand through the hair again.  “Ah, yeah, I really like music.”

When I looked at her eyes, I lost my train of thought.  _So close…_   I’d never been this close to any girl except Abigail, but she didn’t count.  “Um…  anyway… uh.”

Emmaline’s stomach growled very audibly.  With my eyes still glued to hers, I watched as they widened with surprise, only to be followed by a deep blush rising in her cheeks.  An almost inaudible “meep!” of surprise slipped out between her lips. 

It burst out before I could stop it.

“Ahahahahahaha!”  I nearly fell on my ass from my crouched position by the chair.  “Oh Yoba!”

Emmaline sat mortified for just a moment before launching herself out of her seat towards the door of my bedroom.  I lurched up after her, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand to clear them of the tears that had built up as a result of my laughing.  “Wait, Emmaline!  Wait!”  In a last ditch attempt, I threw my body forward across the doorway, barely stopping myself from hitting the wall face first.  This was probably the first and last time I would ever be grateful for the uncoordinated long limbs puberty had still seen unfit to let me grow into. 

“Emmaline, wait.”  I straightened awkwardly, barricading the doorway.  She looked down and away from me, still obviously incredibly embarrassed.  “Hey.”  She didn’t look up.  “Hey!” I said louder.  She looked at me then.

“I want us to be friends, okay?  I know I just met you, but no one deserves to feel left out, especially when they’re in a new place.”  A grinned what I knew to be a snarky smirk.  “And how are we going to do that if I don’t have any good stories I can dish out to embarrass you?”

Her eyes seemed to glisten for a moment, but then she nodded.  “Okay.”  She still didn’t seem okay.

“Hey, let’s both get some lunch, I’m getting pretty hungry too.  I’m sure Mom’s got leftovers from last night…”

“I should probably go, to be honest.”  She was looking down again.

“Um, no.”  I said flatly.  She glared at me then.  _Oookay, keep in mind she doesn’t want to be bossed around…_

“And why not?” she asked.

“Because I performed for you, so now you owe me.  And I’m calling in the favor as one lunch- today’s lunch.”  I fortified myself in the doorway.  “Also, I won’t move until you agree.”

Emmaline continued to glare. _At least she’s not sad?_   Then she sighed and her shoulders slumped.  “Okay.  Lunch.”  She pointed a finger at me.  “But only leftovers.  I don’t want anyone going to any trouble.”

I grinned in triumph, and turned to lead the way into the kitchen.  Behind me, I thought I heard Emmaline mutter, “Of course my first friend here would be like you.”

_I don’t know who you’re talking to, but mission accomplished._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, mini-chapter! First in Sam's POV! 
> 
> Please tell me what you guys think of it! I might edit this chapter and continue the story from here, or make a new chapter after this one, not sure yet. Just don't be surprised if this chapter grows!
> 
> Sam's personality in game reminds me of one of my brother's, who also is super into music. He's reckless, and silly, and honest to a fault, and it's so fun to write it, but also feels a little odd. :/ 
> 
> Song is "Everything" by Michael Buble, the following is a guitar cover I listened to when imagining the scene in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL39sedQRXg
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> MaraDin


	9. Chapter 8: Blue Jazz

Chapter 8: Blue Jazz

by MaraDin

 

I learned something very quickly about my new friend. 

“You can’t cook, can you.”

Sam scratched the back of his head and I could hear the smirk in his tone, “I also still live at home, believe it or not.”

I chuckled at this.  My mortification at my stomach’s outright betrayal was fading in the light of his constant humor.  It felt like being back home, and the wistful longing that had been growing in me was soothed.  I was seated at the kitchen table, watching as he pulled ingredient after ingredient out of the fridge and set them on the counter.  Pickles, eggs, lettuce, and what appeared to be leftover spaghetti sat stacked on top of one another in a reckless tower.  I waited for the inevitable crash on the edge of my seat, even knowing I would be too far away to stop it.

“Ah, here we go.”  From a recess in the back, Sam pulled a container of white mush topped with a large chunk of dark brown.  My appetite wilted like the much abused lettuce until he pulled off the plastic lid to expose roast beef and mashed potatoes.  “Leftovers!”  He dished up two plates, then started one in the microwave.  I silently sighed in relief as he dismantled the tower, placing the food back in the refrigerator.  The microwave beeped, and he switched the plates, sliding one across the table to me. 

“Thank you.”  I looked down at the food, and felt my mouth water at the aroma drifting up.  Even if I wasn’t this hungry, the food smelled delicious.  The potatoes were obviously homemade, not the boxed stuff I was used to, and the roast looked like it could fall apart if I breathed on it too hard. 

“You want something to drink?”

“Water, if that’s okay.”

Sam looked over his shoulder as he pulled down two glasses from an upper cabinet.  “It’ll cost you three G, that cool?”  His shit-eating grin assured me my request was reasonable, but couldn’t stop himself from making the joke.  He filled up our glasses, then grabbed his own plate from the microwave. 

“This looks amazing.” I stated honestly, “Your mom?” I guessed.

“Yeah, she tries to cook for us every night, says it’s important that we all eat together at least once a day.”

“Hmm.”  My mouth was already full of the decadent combination that was potatoes and beef. 

“What about your family?”

I took a drink to give myself a minute.  _Ugh, right to the uncomfortable questions._   “It’s just me and Dad, but he’s in a retirement community.  We used to get together about once a week, but I guess that will be less common now.”

Sam looked at me aghast, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he judged me for leaving Dad.  It turned out I worried about the wrong statement. 

“Your dad’s that old?  How old are you?!”

His unusual focus threw me.  “What?”  I heard what he had asked, but my brain had trouble switching tracks.

“You look like you’re my age, but your dad’s got to be super old to be in an old folks’ home!  How old are you?”

I laughed then.  “I’m only twenty, and Dad’s in his late 40’s.  He’s in assisted living because he got in a car wreck about two years ago.  It messed up his legs pretty bad, so he’s got to use braces and crutches.  He gets help with like groceries and cleaning, that kind of stuff.”

My tablemate seemed pacified by my explanation.  “Oh, I see.”  He nodded thoughtfully, and added “then you’re only like a year older than me!”

“I’ve been hearing that a lot of people in town are our age…”  I let it trail off as a sort of question.

“Yep!”  He considered for a moment.  “Haley, Alex, and Abigail are the same age as you, and Bas is a year older, and Penny and Maru are both nineteen, like me.  We actually all went to school together up until a couple of years ago.”  Sam’s bubbly attitude dimmed, “I wish Vincent could go to school like I got to, but there’s just no money to take him and Jas, even if the bus did still work.  Penny does a good job, but I worry that this unofficial teaching might make problems for him down the road.  As it is, he and Jas will have to do online high school in order to graduate.”

The openness with which Sam was sharing was touching, but also made me nervous.  I wasn’t ready to open up to people like that here, even if they were my friends.  I tried not to be cliché when I reassured him that it would all work out for the best.  He seemed to take my well-meaning words for what they were, and an amicable silence filled the small kitchen as we finished our meal. 

I refused to let him clean my plate, and washed it quickly in the sink before placing it in the nearby drying rack.  “Thank you for lunch, it was really good.”

“Thank my mom next time you see her.  All I did was nuke it.”

“I will,” I paused to think through my phrasing, “and thank you for sharing your music.  It really did mean a lot to me.”

Sam smiled wide at this admission.  “Honest, I’m glad I could help you feel better about being here.”  He put a fist out towards me.  “Friends?”

I hit my knuckles against his lightly.  “Friends,” I agreed.

“Well, with that established, I will let you continue your journey of introductions!”

“Don’t remind me.” I pleaded. 

“You don’t have many people left right?  Elliott, Clint, Gus, and the Mullners, I think?”

“Um, sure?  You realize I don’t know like anyone’s name.”

“Haha!  Right.  Sorry.”  He pulled his hand away from its trajectory towards the back of his head.  “Let me walk you out, and I’ll point you in the right direction.”

As much as I didn’t want to leave the safety and comfort of Sam’s company, I knew he was right.  I had to get this over with.  “All right, lead the way.”

\--<>\--

I followed Sam’s directions toward the library, my most likely spot of finding a man named Elliott. 

_“Look for long brown Fabio hair.  He’ll likely have his nose in a book.”_

I didn’t have to cross the bridge before I met Fabio himself.  He was staring over the edge of a stone bridge heading south.  I tried to be unobtrusive as I joined him. 

“Hi.” I said.

He looked over at me.  “Ah, the new farmer we’ve all been expecting… and whose arrival has sparked many a conversation.  I’m Elliott… I live in the little cabin by the beach.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Emmaline.” I held out a hand, which he shook with a soft, slender fingered grip.  “Nice to meet you too.”

He smiled lightly at me, then returned to watching the water flow beneath us.

_The quiet type, I guess.  Sam did say he was a writer.  Maybe a poet?_   I extricated myself from the bridge railing, and continued on my way down the path to the eastern edge of town.  The river that gurgled pleasantly beside me wasn’t large, but definitely was more than a creek or stream.  A second stone bridge crossed the water, its ancient looking stones worn smooth by the town’s inhabitants over the years.  A familiar young voice caught my ear.

“Hey!  Ms. Stranger!”

“It’s Miss Emmaline, Vincent.”

Appearing from a large building ahead of me were Vincent and Penny, and another young girl in a violet dress.  I called out as I crossed the bridge. “Oh, hello Vincent.  Hello uh, Miss Penny?” I wasn’t sure if she insisted on a ‘teacher’ name like my own elementary teachers had. 

“Please, just Penny, we’re adults.”  Penny smiled warmly, and put a hand on the shoulder of the little girl, who was now hiding behind the woman, holding tightly to Penny’s skirt.  “This is Jas, Marnie’s niece.”  She directed the next sentence downwards.  “Jas, please introduce yourself to Miss Emmaline.”

The girl seemed uncomfortable, and looked up to Penny for reassurance.  After receiving a brief nod, she stepped forward holding her hand out.  “My name is Jas Pendleton.  Nice to meet you Miss Emmaline.”  Her line of sight stayed glued to the ground.

I took her hand gently with my own, and crouched down to her level.  “It’s nice to meet you Jas.  Vincent told me you are a good friend.”  I winked conspiratorially at the boy who grinned. _Huh, the smile’s genetic._ “I hope we can be friends too.”  Jas looked up at this, gauging the honesty of my words.

“Okay.”  The mild words held a note of irrevocability, and the look in her eyes bespoke an old soul in the child’s body.  I shivered, hopefully not noticeably, and stood.  The look had been too familiar for comfort.

Putting on a cheerful expression, I asked the group, “Are you heading home for the day already?”

“No!” Vincent exuberantly shouted.  “We’re doing our nature walk!  We get to go in the woods and look at bugs!”

Penny grimaced, but nodded in agreement.  “I take the children to view local wildlife as part of the science curriculum.”

“Well, I won’t keep you from your adventure then!”  I stepped aside to let them pass to the bridge beyond.  “Have fun!” 

“We will! Vincent assured me.

\--<>\--

Following my ears, I located the clanging machinations that were the blacksmith’s.  An odd collection of tube-like bellows ran in a gigantic circle around the shop.  A bell chimed lightly as I entered the store, and I saw a man slouched over a counter, blacksmith’s leather apron marking him as the proprietor.  Although staring intently at a rock, his eyes bore the glassy, glazed looked of complete boredom.

“Um, hello?” I cautioned.

The rock thumped to the table.  “How may I help you today?” the man droned unenthusiastically.

I stepped up to the counter, unsure of how to proceed.  Everyone so far had at least seemed to care a little bit that I was new to town.  He looked up as I struggled to find words, the surprise drowning back into melancholy almost too fast to catch.

“Er… hi.  I’m Clint.”  _Well, there’s the recognition that you don’t know me…_   “I’m the town blacksmith.  If you ever need to upgrade your tools, I’m your guy.”

“Emmaline Avenell.”  I held my hand out.  His grip was surprisingly strong, in contrast to his palled appearance.  “I’ll probably need your services regularly, if the condition of my tools are anything to go by.” 

The man looked more irritated than pleased.  “I sell ore, and I bill for labor.  I don’t smelt bars, you’ll have to figure that out on your own.”

“Oh, well, thanks for the information.” _I guess._   Clint returned to the study of his rock when I made no move to continue the conversation. 

Leaving the hot oven of a shop was a relief, a spring breeze gently blowing cherry tree petals loose from their stems.  It nearly caught the scrap paper map Sam had hastily scratched out for me.  _If I’m reading this correctly, I should be able to cut through the meadow beyond the shop to get to the north bridge…_   I tucked it back into my pocket.  Three more people on the list for today, not including the barkeep, who was named Gus.  Alex, George and Evelyn Mullner.  Sam didn’t seem like the biggest fans of them, but praised Evelyn’s chocolate cake. 

“Hey!  Head’s up!”  I looked up from the path just in time to see a football hurtling towards my head.  I tried to duck, but it was too late.  A dull thud reverberated as waves of pain lanced from my hairline. 

“Gah!”  I slapped my hand to cover the aching spot, traitorous tears beginning to collect in the corners of my eye.  I refused to let them spill.

“Oh crap!  Are you okay?  Oh man… I’m in so much trouble…”  A young man in a letterman’s jacket rushed over to me, and continued to apologize profusely. 

The spot still stung, but it was fading quickly.  “I’m fine, seriously, it’s okay.”  I just wanted to be left alone before he realized how close I was to actually crying.

“No way, that was like a direct hit!  And I’ve got a killer throw!”  The inserted ego boost jolted my concentration away from the pain.  “Come on, I’ll get you some ice, at the very least.” 

He herded me into the nearby house, a cozy single story affair right off the main town square.  Pulling out a chair, he motioned for me to sit.  “Uh, I’ll find an ice pack,” he said, then went to rummage in the freezer. 

I heard an odd squeaking approaching from the hall, and a pair of wrinkle-bound surprised eyes met my own shocked look.  I realized I was gawking, and broke the contact.

“Alex!”  The old man’s gruff voice made me cringe.  “Who the heck is this young woman?  Why is she in our house?”

“Grandpa!”  Alex looked uncertain for a moment, then his shoulders dropped.  “I accidently hit her in the head with my football when I was practicing throws.  I’m getting her some ice now.”

“Hmmph…  It’s irritating to have to meet all these new people.”  He rolled his wheelchair up to me, stopping barely far enough away to avoid hitting me.  “Name’s George, by the way.  Now buzz off… Hmmph.”  He reversed, and moved across the hall.  I heard the television crackle to life in the way only old CRT screens could manage. 

The young man who had hit me with the ball stood before me as my attention drifted back to the kitchen.  He held out a towel wrapped rectangle.  I took it, and placed it against my sore head.  “I’m really sorry,” he said, “…both for the football, and for Grandpa.  He’s in a lot of pain, but he doesn’t let on except through being a jerk.”  He watched his grandfather for a moment.  “I’m Alex, by the way.  You’re the new girl, at the farm, right?  Haley mentioned you were being introduced to everyone by Marnie…”

He trailed off expectantly.  “We had to part ways earlier today.” I explained.

Alex nodded.  “Is the ice pack helping?”

“Yes, thank you, but it’s not too bad, honestly.”  _I’ve had worse things hit my head than a football._   “So… your grandfather lives with your family?”

He tensed up at this.  “Um, not really.  More I live with him.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, he and my grandma took me in when I was little.”

“I see.  That was very kind of them.”  I didn’t pry into what had happened with his parents.  Some things you just don’t ask about.

“Yeah, it was.”  Alex visibly relaxed as he realized I wasn’t going to push the subject.  “My grandma isn’t here right now, she volunteers to take care of the seasonal raised bed gardens in town.  You should stop by on your way back to the farm, I know she’d love to meet you.”

“Thank you, I will.”  I handed the ice pack back to him.  “I’m feeling a lot better now, so you can have this back.”

Alex peered at me closely, then asked, “May I?” while pointing to my head.  I shrugged, uncomfortable, but not wanting to make a scene.  He carefully parted my hair where the ball had hit me, grunted in a satisfied way, then stepped back.  “I don’t see any blood, so you might get a bruise, but that will likely be it.  Please go to Doc Harvey if you start feeling weird at all, okay?”

I nodded, slightly impressed by his professionalism about the whole thing.  He smiled.  “I want to play football professionally, but Grandma makes me study sports medicine basics.  She says if I want to play, I have to know how to be safe on the field first.”

“Your grandmother is a smart woman.”

Alex laughed as he led me to the front door.  “I think me and you are going to get along great.”  He opened the door for me, “I’ll see you around.”

I waved as I stepped away from the house, and saw the door swing shut rapidly as George called something out from the living room.

Motivated to find Evelyn from both Sam and Alex’s descriptions of her, I wandered into the town square.  Across the paved pavilion an old woman in a bright red sweater was up to her elbows in the dirt.  _Must be her._

I tried to scuff my shoes as I walked, as to not give the elderly gardener a heart attack.  She heard me, and turned her head to see who was approaching.  Her kind face lit up in a smile that became complete when it reached her eyes.  “Why, hello and welcome to our little community, dear.”

She pulled her hands out of the ground, and brushed them on a well-worn apron.  I shook her hand and introduced myself.  “I’m Emmaline, very nice to meet you.”

“My name is Evelyn, but you can call me ‘Granny’, if you like.”  She turned to gather up gardening tools.  “I was just about to head to that next box, if you would care to accompany me?”

“Oh, of course!  Please, let me help.”  I picked up as many of the tools as I could, significantly reducing the load for the elderly woman.  “I met your grandson just a bit ago,” I said as we worked our way down to the next raised bed. “He accidently hit me with his football.”

Evelyn’s eyes darkened, and I saw the look of a woman well versed in dealing with troublesome children.  I hastily added, “But he was very kind, and it was a complete accident.  I walked right in the way, I swear.  He even got me an ice pack, and checked the injury before I left!”  I didn’t know how long I needed to plead Alex’s case. 

She nodded thoughtfully, her voice calm when she spoke, “Well, at least he’s taking that sports medicine studying seriously.  Right here, dear.”  She motioned to a spot in the garden, and I deposited the tools.  “Did you meet my husband George?”

Even Evelyn seemed a little worried as she asked.  “I did,” and my thoughts darted for something to add.  “He seems a very practical man.”

Evelyn hooted at this.  “Practical.  Well I suppose that’s one way of describing my George.”  She dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve.  “He truly is a good man, he just has trouble showing it at times to people he doesn’t know well.  And thank you for helping me with the tools.”

I looked closely at the garden before us.  “This is immaculate, and the flowers are beautiful.  Do you do all of this?”

“It is my passion.  Yoba granted me a green thumb, and I’m determined to use it!  The plants always seem to be kindred spirits.”  She sighed contentedly.  “I’m sure you’ll find something similar on your farm.”

“I certainly hope so.  I’m a little worried I have gotten myself in too deep, too fast.  The farm land is huge, and in such disrepair…”

Evelyn simply bobbed her head and started working on the flowers.

“I mean, I don’t know the first thing about farming, much less have the physical aptitude.”  I regarded my doughy physique and sighed.  “I’m just not sure I’ll make it.”

“My dear, may I give you a piece of advice?”  Evelyn held a weed in her hand.

“Of course.” I replied.

“See this weed?  It has all the makings for success.  It’s sturdy, it has deep roots, and many, many seeds.  Left on its own, it would grow and consume this flower bed, crowding out and starving these flowers.”  She threw the weed into a bucket near her feet.  “But see this flower?”  She gently caressed a pale blue puff made up of tiny flower buds.  “Only when planted in this soil, and tended by a caring gardener, and watered every day will it grow from a tiny seed and bloom into beauty.  Yet, what we desire, as people, as a community, is for these beautiful flowers to grow, even if it means we have to give them the support to do it.”  Evelyn turned to face me fully.  “You my dear are like the Blue Jazz.  You may not have the skills inherent in being a farmer, but we here in Stardew Valley want to see you succeed, and bloom into a beautiful, profitable farm.  You have support here, so don’t be afraid to rely on us.  We want _you_ to grow.”

I was speechless, floored by the kindness of this woman.  “Thank you, Evelyn.”  She raised her eyebrows.  “Granny.” I corrected, smiling at her.  “I really needed to hear that.”

She patted my hand with her own wrinkled one covered in soil.  “Now, why don’t you go along and get some dirt under your own fingernails?”

“Yes.  Yes, that is exactly what I’ll do.”  What seemed an overwhelming obstacle when I woke up this morning now instead loomed ahead of me as a challenge waiting to be bested.  I had made this decision to start a life here in Stardew, and nothing was going to get in the way of my newfound freedom!  I trekked back to my farm, and grabbed my hoe from the pile lying next to my front door.  Turning to the expanse of wilderness that was my livelihood, I planted the butt of my hoe in the dirt beside me, and inhaled deeply.

“I am Emmaline Avenell, and I am a farmer!!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha! I'm calling it good with them introductions! Things will just have to happen naturally from this point out, because it is a pain in the behind to write them.
> 
> In other news. Readers, please let me know if you feel my characters are too OOC. While I am writing my interpretations of them, I don't want to get so far away they aren't believable to other people who have played the game! I know Clint's really pushing it, but there's a reason he was acting so unsociable today! ;)
> 
> Now that Emmaline is an official part of the community, I can start putting her in awkward situations! Especially romantic ones! Hooray!
> 
> Thank you all for your patience with my space between updates, I truly appreciate everyone who enjoys my writing. I was feeling a little down on myself as I know I'm not anywhere near the skill of my idols (Pratchett, Sanderson, Rothfuss, etc.), but then I read that first and foremost a writer writes for themselves, then for their audience. I honestly hope people enjoy my story, but I'm just proud and pleased that I even have the opportunity to share it in the first place! 
> 
> Till next chapter,  
> MaraDin
> 
> PS- I have no editor/proofreader, so please feel free to comment with any typos/errors you find, it helps a ton!!


	10. Chapter 9: The Fear of Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: panic attack, being touched during panic attack

Chapter 9: The Fear of Loss

by MaraDin

 

Emmaline hadn’t come by in over a week, and I was starting to get anxious.  According to Abigail, she’d been in and out of the store multiple times, but didn’t stay long. 

“She looks pretty rough, to be honest.”  Her purple hair slid off her shoulder as she shrugged it.  “Dark bags under her eyes and crap.”  She moved her piece a few spaces forward, placed a card on the table, and motioned at Bas.  I wasn’t sure what had happened between the two women that was making Abigail act like this, I mean, Abby was Abby, but this was above and beyond her usual lack of antisocial behavior. 

My concern for my new friend was distracting me from the game, and Bas kicked me under the table in rebuke.  “Hey!”  I rubbed my shin, but he just looked at me. 

“Get your head in the game, or go home.”

I moved my piece methodically, knowing that I was probably going to lose anyway.  “Aren’t you a little concerned at least?  I know she’s been coming up here, Jas is complaining your mom starts working too early, so she had to have hired her for something.”  Honestly, I was a little impressed that Emmaline had already made enough money to buy something a month after starting up the farm again. 

“Yeah, she asked Mom to install a well for her.  Apparently douchebag’s watering can has a lot of holes, but she can’t get it fixed at Clint’s yet.”  _Sebastian and Demetrius fought again tonight.  Great.  That’s going to make him even more vengeful in his decimation of us tonight._ I sighed, but took my turn as the others waited again.

“Why do you care so much, Sam?”  Abigail hit me with an attack, and I discarded three cards.  “It’s not like she’s your responsibility or anything.”

“Well, unlike the two of you, I guess I’m her friend!”  Suddenly upset, I tossed the cards down on the table.  “I’ve lost anyway, you two duke it out.”  I leaned back on the stool, resting my head against Sebastian’s wall.  The chill of the basement did little to cool my temper. 

“Sam, chill.  Seriously.”  Bas looked me over critically.  “She’s probably just working too hard.  It’s got to be a serious chore to get that piece of crap up and running again.  If she’s already hired Mom, she must be really putting in the hours.  But it’s her choice.”  He shuffled my unused cards back into the deck. 

“Ha!  Try to block that Bas!”  Abigail smirked wickedly.

Sebastian looked down at his cards and considered them.  “Hmm.”  Pulling two from his hand, he placed them in a precise order in front of Abigail’s attack.  I barked out a laugh as I realized what he had done.  His action took Abby’s powerful attack and redirected it to the person to his right, which was her, now that I had quit the game. 

“Fuck you Sebastian!”

“You fucked yourself over, thank you very much.”  He began to gather up the cards, sorting them into their respective categories to put away.  “I just helped.”

Abigail glowered in her chair.  “It’s not fair, you always win.”

“What can I say, I’m just better than you guys at this.  At least Sam’s not a sore loser.”

“It’s just because I’ve gotten so used to it, what’s the point of expecting to win?”

“We need a new person that Sam and I can beat,” interjected Abigail.  “Why don’t we invite Maru?”

Sebastian shook his head.  “She’s always busy with her own shit or helping Demetrius.  I doubt she’d even be interested.”

Sulking more, Abigail responded, “Well, you never know until you ask.”

“Then you ask her.”

“She’s _your_ sister.”

“Half.”

“Close enough.”

My stool scraped on the wood floor as I pushed it back. “Since you two are busy fighting like an old married couple, I’m going to head home now.”

Abigail stuck her tongue out at me.  Sometimes she was so childish, even with me being the younger.  Bas just gave me a quick, cold glare, then asked levelly, “We good for Friday?”

“Yeah, see you guys at Gus’.”

I grabbed up my coat off the loveseat near the door and shrugged it on as I trudged up the steps.  Even though spring was well on its way, the nights still got chilly.  I shut the Wright’s door behind me, and started the trek down the hill into town.  It was already late, the stars having come out.  As familiar as I was with the town, and the path between my house and my best friend’s, the old Community Center always freaked me out, and I stayed to the far edge of the path as I passed it.  I hummed quietly to myself, trying to keep my mind off it.

An unusual sound made me slow as I approached town.  Down a side staircase that gave easy access to the river someone sat in the dark.  _A woman singing?_   My confusion changed to astonishment as I got closer and I realized it was Emmaline.  Her back was towards me, and with her quiet voice, she hadn’t heard me approaching.  I stopped, unsure if I should interrupt her.  The song sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place where I had heard it.  It was sad, and her voice captured the emotion as if it was being fueled by her own experiences.  It was also beautiful.  From that first day she had told me she sang with her father, I had wondered.  Obviously untrained, but even with that going against her, there was no denying she was naturally talented. 

I stood, spellbound by her voice bringing the melody to life.  As the last verse faded into silence, I realized I had been unconsciously creeping closer to her.

“Emmaline?”

“Aaah!”  She scrambled away from me, hands behind her in an uncoordinated crab walk. 

“It’s me!  Sam!  Stop!”  I barely caught her leg before she launched herself into the river.  Tightening my grip against her panicked kicking, I repeated myself.  “It’s Sam!”

One hand slipped from beneath her, and she collapsed to the dirt again.  Wide, darting eyes accompanied distraught breathing.  My adrenaline spiked seeing the unadulterated fear in her gaze. 

“Emmaline, it’s okay, it’s just Sam.”  I reached out towards her shoulder, pausing as she flinched, closing her eyes and turning her head away.  _What the hell?_   I touched her gently, guiding her to sit up, away from the edge of the river.  She put her hand over her heart, and I could tell she was struggling to breathe normally.

“Are you okay?”  I looked her over for anything obvious, but she seemed okay besides the panic.  “I’m sorry for scaring you, and then grabbing you like that.  You almost went into the drink.”

She jerked her head in a bad imitation of a nod.  I thought about asking what she was doing out here, then realized I had probably caused enough damage for the night.  “Hey,” I spoke softly, trying to sound as reassuring and as safe as I could.  “Can I walk you home?”  I offered my hand to her, and after a moment, she took it.  I pulled her to her feet, cupping her elbow as she swayed. 

“You okay to walk?  I might not look it, but I’m pretty good at piggy back rides.”  Her lack of response worried me.  “Okay, walk it is.”

I kept our pace slow, alert for any indication Emmaline would fall.  She didn’t look at me, just stared ahead, or at her feet.  I didn’t know much, but I was pretty sure they talked about this being shock symptoms.

“Do you want me to go get Maru, or Doc Harvey?  You don’t look okay…”

This, finally, got a rise out of her.  “No.  Just take me home.”

“Can do buddy.  Can do.”

Ironically, my fear for Emmaline was easily topping my fear of the old Community Center.  We walked past the silent building, my hand still holding hers in a secure grip.  I did feel better as we entered town square, the tall lampposts lighting our way.  As the paved pathway of Pelican Town faded to the dirt lane towards New Dawn, Emmaline started to come back to herself.  The rigid posture she had held for most of the trip softened, and she laced her fingers with my own, seemingly comforted by the human contact.  By the time we arrived at her house, she was quiet, but herself again.

“I’m sorry for freaking out back there Sam.”

“I’m so sorry for freaking you out!”  I could feel the blush forming in my cheeks at the embarrassment of the memory.  I began to put my hand in my hair, only to realize she still held it clasped in hers.  My motion brought her focus down to our connection, and she released me. 

“Uh, sorry.”  She put her hands together in front of her.  “I… had some bad experiences in the dark, and getting surprised there…”

I mentally berated myself for my idiocy, then proceeded to do so out loud.  “I am so stupid!  It was obvious you wanted some alone time, I’m really sorry Emmaline.”

“It’s really okay Sam, you had no idea.”  She looked directly at me, as if to ensure I was paying attention.  “Thank you for keeping me from going into the river.”

“Yeah, well, it was my own fault, so, could we just call it even?”  I tried to smile a little to show I was joking, but I wasn't sure how successful I was until a small smile played on her lips as well.

“That sounds fair.”  Looking past me, Emmaline’s smile grew.  “As much as I have anxiety about the dark, I love the stars.  You can’t see them like this in the city.”

I looked up with her.  “That makes sense, but I hadn’t ever thought about it.  Always been able to see them, living here.”

“They’re just so beautiful, and sad.”

“Sad?”

“Each star is trillions of miles apart from even its closest neighbor.  They shine so bright, but even though they have so much to share, they have no one to share it with.”

My scrutiny left the night sky to observe the woman who was so captivated by it.  _You are so different than anyone I’ve met Emmaline.  You are so real, and yet I can’t seem to wrap my head around who you really are._

She caught me staring, and I glanced away.  “I should probably get home.  My mom will likely be getting worried.  You’re sure you’re okay now?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.  Thanks, Sam.”

“Okay.  Good.  I’ll see you soon, right?”

“Sounds like a plan.  Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, Emmaline.”

\--<>\--

I tossed and turned that night, worried that I had screwed up one of the few friendships I had, especially since it was so new. 

_“It was stupid to intrude like that!” My mental clone criticized me._

_It’s not like I don’t know that!_

_“She will probably get all nervous and anxious around you now.  You’ll just remind her of being afraid!”_

I didn’t have any rebuttal for this one.  That’s the problem when arguing with yourself, you never win.  I threw the blankets off me, and grabbed my guitar.  I knew I shouldn’t be playing, but it was the only thing that could keep me sane when my emotions tumbled like this.  I picked out chords as silently as I could, randomly at first, but the song slowly morphed into the chorus of whatever Emmaline had been singing. 

_She really is talented._

_“Incredibly so.  Like an uncut gem, Ms. Mora would have said.”_

_She said she wasn’t any good.  I wonder why she thinks that?_

_“Most people do, even ones who aren’t bad.”_

_Yeah, guess that’s true._

I branched into what I remembered of the verses, composing to fill in the gaps in what I could remember.  I would have to run the chorus notes through a midi search later.  Maybe Bas could help me find it.

_“Why such as sad song?”_

_Don’t know.  Maybe she misses her old home?_

_“Maybe, but that seemed extreme even for that.”_

_Well, her dad’s her only family she’s got left, and he’s back there._

Thinking about Emmaline’s dad derailed the train of thought to my own.  We hadn’t heard from Dad in a couple months now.  I was trying my best, for Mom, and Vincent.  But I saw how Mom’s face fell with every empty mailbox, how she was losing the small sliver of hope she had left that Dad was ever going to come back.  I couldn’t let Vincent know how serious it was.  I kept telling him Dad was on an undercover mission, and that’s why he couldn’t send letters right now.  Yoba knows what was actually happening. 

Sighing, I put my guitar back on its stand, and rolled back into bed.  I wasn’t going to sleep, not with the dual worries of Dad and Emmaline on my mind, but I wouldn’t wake up Mom or Vincent just for my own benefit.  I stared at my ceiling, and mentally reached out to the only other being that I thought might be able to help me.

_I don’t know if this is a prayer or not, but Yoba, please don’t let me lose my new friend, especially… especially if you’ve already got my dad._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter!! Whoo!
> 
> A new Sam POV, with a darker twist that may give a little deeper background to our heroine. I was struggling with how to connect the next few parts of the story together, but apparently my subconscious knew, and thus chapter! I wasn't planning on writing another one so quickly, so it's a little short, but it flowed so well and I'm happy with it.
> 
> I'm messing with people's schedules, because I'm sure that Abigail and Sam force themselves over to Seb's like weekly to play board games, don't tell me they don't. XD
> 
> Also, I'm extending the calendar. While Spring is a month in game, in the story each season will last about 3-4 months, as ours do.
> 
> Poor Sam trying to keep it together for his family. I've always liked/hated that aspect of his situation. 
> 
> And a quick PSA for those who know people with panic/anxiety attacks- DO NOT TOUCH THEM DURING AN ATTACK, unless they specifically tell you it's okay, or to keep someone safe. Sam only did so here to prevent bodily harm (i.e. unintentional night river diving). 
> 
> Please let me know what you think, I require a steady diet of feedback! :D  
> MaraDin


	11. Chapter 10: Good Memories

Chapter 10: Good Memories

by MaraDin

The first few months of my new life were probably the most physically draining I’d ever experienced. 

“I had no idea a person could even _get_ this tired!” I mourned over my coffee to Robin.  “How does anyone do it?”

“Well, considering you’re doing at least the work of two people right now, I’m not surprised you’re exhausted!  You need to take a break.”

“Not possible.  The farm is barely producing anything, and I know it’s because I’m lacking the experience.  I almost plowed over my parsnips yesterday thinking they were weeds again, until I saw they were in a line.  Ugh!”  I let me head fall dramatically to the table before me.  “How did Grandfather make this work by himself?”

“I didn’t know your grandfather that well, but he always did seem an extraordinarily lucky person.  His production on that farm was far more substantial that should have been possible.  It was like he had a tiny army working for him through the night that no one ever saw!”  Robin laughed heartily at this idea, then patted my head.  “You just do the best you can, and don’t forget you have friends to help you.”

“Trust me, that’s the one thing I know I won’t be able to forget.  There is no way I’d have made it this far without everyone’s help.”  Propping my chin on the table, I looked at my friend and mentor.  “I guess I just have to find my own tiny army then?”

“Ha!  Good luck with that.”  Robin pushed her chair back.  “In any case, it’s about time to get going.  I know you worked through the Egg Festival, I’m not letting you miss the other spring community event.  Her eyes glinted in a way I was learning to fear.  “Maybe I can even hook you up with someone for the dance…  Mayor Lewis owes me for fixing his door.”

“No!” I hastily answered.  “No dancing.  Not going to happen, no way.”  Beyond the fact that I would feel mortified dancing in front of everyone anyway, I had absolutely no dancing skills.  It would be a deadly accident waiting to happen.  I practically tripped over my feet when I was told to sway side to side.

Robin huffed at my adamant refusal, then relented.  “Well, you need to come at least to see Evelyn’s work.  You’ll be amazed.  She lives for this festival.”

“Now _that_ sounds like a reason to go.”  Evelyn’s gardening had been taken to a whole new level the last month, and I was eager to see the results. 

“There’s also great food,” a deeper voice interrupted us.  Demetrius came from the master bedroom, dressed in a pastel button down to match his wife’s apparel.  I again felt underdressed.

Likely sensing my return to the subject, Robin reassured me, “You look fine, no one expects you to have an outfit for a festival you didn’t know about before.  Plus, your clothes look plenty like springtime to me!”

“Yes, the violet in your shirt matches a local subspecies of _Flos purpura_ that blooms this time of year.”  Being compared to a plant was as high of a complement I could receive from Demetrius.

“Thank you Demetrius.”  We all looked up at the sound of a door closing down the hall.

“Hey!  Mom, Dad!”  Maru joined us, the small kitchen starting to feel crowded.  “Oh, hi Emmaline!  I thought we were going to meet you on the way there?”

“I needed coffee and a pep talk, hope it’s okay I came early.”

“Of course!”  She smiled at me, then turned to her parents.  “I’m ready, but I think Seb is still working in his room.  I don’t even know if he’s gotten ready yet.”

Robin sighed, and slid her chair out, but I held a hand out to stop her.  “Wait, I can go see if he’s ready.  You helped me with my issue, let me return the favor.”  I knew the last thing Robin really wanted to deal with was attitude from her son this morning.

“Thanks Emmaline.”  She sat back down. “Hopefully a non-member of the family waiting for him will make him uncomfortable enough to actually get ready at a decent speed.”

I edged my way out of the kitchen, and made my way down the long hallway that led to the front of the house.  Carefully making my way down the stairs to the basement room, I knocked lightly on the door.

“Fuck off, Maru.  I’ll get ready when I feel like it.  You guys can just leave without me.”  The voice was rough with sleep.

“Uh…  It’s Emmaline, not Maru.”  Silence.

I heard a small crash, and a muffled curse.  A moment later I was staring at Sebastian, who had evidently not even been up out of bed yet.  The short side of his hair stuck up at odd angles, and the long bangs were full of snarls.  His eyes were wide.

“Sorry!  Thought you were my half-sister.”

I pursed my lips and looked down, embarrassed for him.  “Not so much.”  He wore a faded tee shirt and sweats that looked almost too comfortable to be fair.  Putting aside my envy of Sebastian’s pajamas, I relayed the message.

“Robin wanted me to let you know we’ll be waiting for you, so, um…”  I felt awkward telling a grown man to get ready for the day. 

“Oh, yeah.”  Thankfully he understood what I was trying to say.  “I’ll, uh, be right up.”

“Yeah, thanks.”  I turned to head back up the steps.

“Um, Emmaline?”  When I looked back, he continued.  “Sorry again.  Language and all.”

“It’s fine, really.  I like my sleep too.  Miss it, to be more accurate.” 

He must have caught the longing look in my eye, because he chuckled at this.  “I apologize anyway.  I’ll meet everyone upstairs when I’m ready.”

I nodded, and walked back to the kitchen.  “Mission success?”  I said as I entered.  “He said he was going to get ready, but I don’t know how long that will take.  It didn’t seem like he had gotten up at all yet.”

“Whaaat?!”  Maru gaped at me.  “He let you see his bed head?!”

“Uh, yes?”

Robin and Demetrius traded looks before Robin spoke.  “I am just glad he’s getting ready.  Let’s all be thankful that Emmaline was here to help us avoid another year of being totally late.”

\--<>\--

Luckily, we didn’t arrive late to the festival, although getting Maru there in her white dress was a challenge.  At least Sebastian’s suit didn’t have long tails to get caught on anything. 

“Ugh, Emmaline, be glad you don’t have to do the stupid dance.”  Maru held my arm as she struggled into the heeled sandals she was supposed to wear.  “It’s obnoxious, and I always end up half leading Sebastian because he doesn’t care if he remembers the steps!”

I looked over to her half-brother, standing with Sam and Abigail at the far end of the field.  Though the boys were talking, Abigail was shooting me daggers.  She had been glaring on and off since I got here, but this was the worst.  I shivered.

“You okay?  You didn’t bring a sweater like I recommended, did you?”

“No _Mom_.”  I smirked at Maru.  “I’m fine, honest.”

“Okay, but if you get sick, I’m not giving you a friend discount.”

The weather had been consistently warm, and the short sleeved purple blouse and tan skirt were adequate for the weather, assuming it didn’t decide to start raining.  Maru finally got the last strap of her sandal in place, and thanked me before heading in the direction of Mayor Lewis.  Finally free to explore on my own, I turned my attention to one of the barrels overflowing with flowers.  The smell was almost overwhelming, but the openness of the field helped spread the fragrance to all the guests.  I saw Evelyn attending to George, but decided to approach her anyway.

“Granny, these are so incredibly beautiful!” I enthused as I got within her hearing range.

“Thank you dear!”  The old woman beamed, obviously very contented with her work.  “It’s a lot of effort, but making the Flower Dance full of flowers is the highlight of my year.”

“I can tell,” I said honestly.

“Are you dancing today, dear?”

“Oh, no.  Unfortunately, Yoba did not bless me with that skill.”

George harrumphed from his chair.  “It’s a stupid dance anyway.”

Evelyn poked a finger in his shoulder gently.  “Now, you didn’t say that when you were sweeping _me_ around that meadow fifty years ago.”  He grumbled something in response.  “What, dear?”

“I said, you’re the only thing that made it remotely tolerable!”

I smiled at the exchange, but excused myself to find Robin and Demetrius.  They promised to save me a spot to watch the dance.  Scanning the crowd for her bright red hair, I was assaulted as someone grabbed my elbow and spun me around.

“Happy Flower Dance!” Sam nearly shouted in a sing-song voice.  He grabbed my hands and danced around me in a circle like a little child. 

“Ack!  Sam!”  I nearly lost my balance as I was jerked around and around.  He released me suddenly, and I wobbled before catching myself.  He was already a few yards away, shouting about free food.  My eyes followed him to the table, and I mentally groaned as I realized that’s where Robin and Demetrius were as well.  Joining them would inevitably lead to more playful attacks by Sam.  We were becoming good friends, but sometimes he was a little much.  His exuberance was at once endearing and exasperating.  Before I could reach the table, however, Mayor Lewis called for the dancers and musicians to come take their places.  I hurried to Robin and Demetrius as they moved to the edge of the meadow.

“What happens now?” I asked under my breath.

“Mayor Lewis will get everyone lined up, and the waltz starts.”  Robin shrugged.  “It’s really not that big of a production.”

We watched as the dancers were paired, then began the dance.  It brought back memories of old Victorian period piece movies watched with my dad, though the women weren’t in full ball gowns, and the men had pale blue suits that looked thirty years out of fashion.  Skirts billowed and flowed as the men and women weaved between and around one another.  I was ten years old again, mesmerized by what was happening before me.  They seemed to be the utter embodiment of the music.  “Music in motion,” Dad had called it.  Gus’ violin wrote the story to which the dancers moved, and they acted it out perfectly.  I didn’t want it to end, and was so engrossed I didn’t catch Robin calling my name. 

“Emmaline?”

“It looks like she’s a bit star struck.”  I could hear the humor in Demetrius’ tone.

“Oh!”  I could feel myself turning red.  “I’m sorry, what?”

“I was asking if you wanted to come home to celebrate the rest of the day with us?”

In my right mind again, I smiled but declined her offer.  “Thank you, but I promised Evelyn I would help her and Alex with the festival take-down.”

They both smiled at me.  “Of course.  Well, we’ll see you later then.  Happy Flower Dance, Emmaline!”

I watched them leave with Sebastian and Maru before deciding enough people had left to take down the decorations.  I found Alex already hard at work in one of the flower bins.  He was carefully arranging each flower by type and color.

“Hey.”

“Oh, hi Emmaline.  You volunteered to help out right?  Thanks a bunch!”

“Yeah, no problem!  Your family sets up this whole thing by themselves, the least I can do is help take them down.”

Alex gave me directions, and we worked making small talk about the town, and my farm.  “How did you like the dance?”

His question threw me a bit.  “I thought it was beautiful.”  I sorted a few more flowers.  “My dad loves old movies with ballroom dancing scenes in them, we’d watch them together when I was little.  This reminded me of that.”

“Good memories?” Alex asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, good memories.” I assured.

“I don’t have many good ones of my dad, to be honest.” He confided in me.  “The guy was kind of a jerk.”

I decided then to take a chance.  “Sorry to hear that.  You could say the same about my mom.”

Alex gave me a sidelong look, curious, but didn’t push any boundaries.  “It’s always nice when you can have a good memory about your parent though, right?  Gives you something to hold on to.”

“Sure is a better thing to reminisce about than the alternative, huh?” I tried to hide the bite in my tone, but I think it slipped out anyway.

“I’ll say.”

“Hey, you haven’t told me how the application process for the football scholarship was going.”

“Oh yeah!  I completely forgot.  They liked my application letter, and told me I made it into a pool of candidates!  Nothing for sure yet, but considering the competition, I’m sure I’ve got a foot in the door already.”

I looked at him, a frown prominently displayed.  “What?” he asked.

“If I can give you some advice, you might not want to talk that way during an interview.  That stuff about being better than everyone else needs to be shown, not said.”

After learning that Alex was applying for scholarships, I offered my help. I never got to go because of Dad’s accident, but I had earned a full ride at Ferngill Central University.  I knew my way around a college admissions board.

“But I’m just confident in my abilities!”

“And that’s great, but they hear the same thing from everyone applying.  They’re more likely to be pleased with you if you _are_ really good, but are humble about it.  Confidence doesn’t equal ego, Alex.”

I wasn’t sure if the words hit home, but I had at least said them.  Zuzu City College was Alex’s big hope of getting into professional football.  It was close enough to home that he could check up on Evelyn and George whenever he wanted to, and he wasn’t willing to go any further than that.  I let the topic drop, as Alex didn’t seem inclined to keep talking about it.  We working in comfortable silence until each of the barrels had been cleared out, the flowers carefully boxed away.

“What is Granny going to do with all these flowers?”

“She dries or presses them, then we sell them online.”  Alex loaded a small hand-drawn wagon with the boxes.  “Art people pay a lot of money for Grandma’s flowers.”

Evelyn and George met us as we rolled the wagon to the entrance of the field.  I could hear George’s complaint before he reached us.  “This just means we’re going to have those stinking flower presses littered all over the house for months again!”

“George, you know this is a huge part of our income, stop being so ornery!” Evelyn tapped him on the shoulder smartly.  “Alex, come wheel your grandpa away so I can say thank you to your nice young lady friend.”  Instantly obedient, Alex took his grandfather to where the wagon waited.  I turned to the elderly woman.

“Thank you so much, dear.” Evelyn took my hand.  “If you ever need any help, with anything, please think of us.  I do have a strong grandson to lend out, I’ve heard farmers sometimes have a use for those types!”  She winked at me, and I laughed. 

“Thank you for the offer, and I’ll come by if I need him for anything.  I’m just glad I could help today.  You made this festival look and smell so beautiful, I’m sure it wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it.  Take care of yourself, you hear?”

“Of course, Granny.”  I waved as they left, Evelyn pushing her husband, their grandson pulling a wagon full of flowers behind them.  Even with the flowers gone, their sweet smell still lingered in the air.  According to Evelyn, Mayor Lewis would be by in the evening to remove the plank that opened this field to the public.  It was a special, almost sacred place to the people of Pelican Town, and as I stood there alone in it, I began to see why. 

The grass whispered as the breeze ran through it.  Framed by tall pines, maples, and oaks, it was a small piece of natural paradise.  The sun shone almost directly overhead, and I found myself doing something I hadn’t since I was a small child.  I laid down in the grass, and just let the sun warm me.  I didn’t worry if my clothes got grass stains, I was a farmer, who would care?  I hummed a simple tune along with the crickets and cicadas, and fell silent as the birds took up the melody. 

_I can close my eyes for just a moment…  Just enjoy this one tiny piece of my life, right?  Surely no one will be angry with me for that._

\--<>\--

“Miss Emmaline?”  A pleasantly gruff voice woke me gently from my slumber. 

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, trying to focus.  The sky was streaked red and purple, the sun dipping behind the tree line.  “What?”

“I think you took an unscheduled nap here,” the voice continued.  I looked up into the bewhiskered face of Mayor Lewis.  “I came to get the bridge, and almost didn’t see you!”  His moustache was twitching in the way I knew meant he was holding back some large emotion.  _Probably laughter._

“I’m sorry Mayor, I’m not sure what came over me.”  Standing, I brushed myself off the best I could.  My hair was a lost cause; it would just have to wait for my bath in the morning. 

“Something that calls to all of us, miss.  There’s a reason we stick around here in Stardew Valley.  The Valley itself calls to us, invites us to enjoy it and become a part of it.  It just called a little louder to you today.”  He grinned.  “Or maybe you were more receptive than normal?”

I shrugged.  “I’m still very sorry.”

“Don’t give it a thought, little lady.  Come on, help me carry this bridge back.  It’s always a pain!” 

I followed him out of the field, but looked back and spent just a moment wishing I had a camera to capture the beauty of that sanctuary layered in hues of red, orange, and shadow.  Turning forward, I dutifully grabbed my end of the bridge, and we made our way back to Pelican Town.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm on a writing binge. I'll take it!
> 
> Who else wants to see sleepyhead-Seb? I do! I do! :D
> 
> I understand the game mechanics reason of characters wearing the same outfits all the time, but all I can think is how gross and itchy they must feel. Especially because NO ONE has bathrooms! Until the bathhouse is fixed, have people just been going without? Do these people not poop? The scientist part of me is bothered, and the writer part demands its correction. There will be bathrooms for everyone!! Except Emmaline. She has an outhouse. XP (At least until the first house upgrade. She will pay whatever Robin wants to get indoor plumbing.)
> 
> For those who have read Stardew Vignettes, you already know that I randomize the dancers/partners every year according to Mayor Lewis' preferences that year. Usually, Maru gets paired with Seb because no one else is willing to dance with Sebastian. (See Maru's explanation.) 
> 
> I am in love with the idea that George and Evelyn are still head over heels 50+ years into their marriage, through everything that's happened, but George doesn't want anyone to know, because it messes up his grumpy old man image. :)
> 
> I hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far, I appreciate you all so much!  
> MaraDin


	12. Chapter 11: Secrets

Chapter 11: Secrets

by MaraDin

“Yes Dad, I’m doing fine.”  The phone balanced between my cheek and shoulder slipped further. “Yes, I got the letter and money you sent.  You _really_ shouldn’t have!”  Large Mylar bags lined my table, my permanent marker having long gone missing in the piles of burlap sacks that littered the floor around me.  I shoved another piece of rough fabric in the growing load I was carrying.

“I’m doing really well Dad, and you need that money!  I’m not there to help with some of the house stuff, so you’re going to need to give Sophia more hours, and as nice of a woman as she is, that won’t be free.”  I gave up and dropped the burlap, an exasperated sigh prompting a worried question from Dad.  “No, everything’s okay.  I just lost something, as usual.”  Hearing his laughter was worth the embarrassment of it being caused by my own absentmindedness. 

“I’m sending money back to you, and don’t think to refuse it,” I warned him.  “My spring harvest is looking really fruitful, and it’s the least I can do for leaving you all alone in that city.”  The chair squeaked on the wooden planks as I sank into it.  “I miss you too, Dad.  I love you.”

_“Love you too, Emmy.  Stay safe.”_

“Always, Dad.”  I hung up, thankful again that Joja had set up towers in the Valley.  Even if it was for their own convenience, I’m not sure I could have stayed if it meant not talking to Dad on a regular basis.  I didn’t often thank the corporate giant for anything; this was one of the few.  I glared at the mess surrounding me, and I swear it glared back.  Who knew keeping seeds long term was this difficult?  Special bags to avoid moisture and light, then burlap for temperature protection?  _Ugh._ With the temperatures rising, new crops were coming into season, and my seed reserves for spring needed storage. 

My back cracked as I stretched up from the chair.  It was time for a break.  The humidity of summer was starting to accumulate inside the small cabin, barely offset by the window open overlooking the farm.  I leaned into what breeze was coming in from it.  The grass that still overran much of the farm gave a fresh, clean scent to the air, tinged with the smell of algae from the small pond.  I breathed deeply and felt nostalgia.  While I didn’t remember spending much time here, I must have at some point to have these faint memories.  Straining my hearing, I could almost hear the river in the distance.  A short walk with more fresh air would do me good.  Stretching my muscles and my mind couldn’t hurt either.  I pulled on my boots, not bothering to lace them up, instead simply tucking the laces inside.

Cindersap Forest was a relatively open and accessible place, as long as you avoided the thicket areas.  I followed the path past Marnie and Leah’s, then left it to walk the edge of the water.  I had never worried about falling in.  I swam well, since every kid in Zuzu learns how in elementary school.  Staring at the water as it ran its course left me sprinkled me with tiny wet dots as the river burst over hidden rocks and eddies.  The dirt path transitioned to paving stones to my left, and I realized my short walk had ended with me in town, in front of Sam’s house.  I heard music coming from the open window, which was nothing new, but something different this time piqued my interest.  The skillful guitar playing must be Sam, but there was also someone playing his keyboard.  _Did he find a bandmate?_

I knocked, then let myself in, knowing that both Vincent and Jodi would be out right now.  “Sam?”  I questioned before proceeding.  The music continued, as did I.  Feeling like some kind of spy, I tried to be obvious as I entered Sam’s bedroom.  Sam was facing away, and Sebastian had his head down in concentration over the keyboard.  _Ah._

Sam must have heard me come in, putting down his guitar after he finished the riff he was playing.  “Oh, hi Emmaline!”

“Hey Sam.  Sebastian.”  I nodded to the young man behind the keyboard who seemed dazed and a little shaken at my intrusion.

“Sebastian and I were just having a little ‘jam session’.”  Sam waved me closer, and I went to join him by the instruments.  “We’re trying to start a band, but we still don’t know what kind of music to make.  There’s too many possibilities.”  He got the faraway look I knew meant he was concentrating on an idea.  I saw Sebastian roll his eyes and study his fingernails as he waited.

Sam perked up from his contemplation.  “Say, Emmaline… what kind of music do you like?”  The question put me on guard; the tone Sam used was odd, as if he wanted a particular answer.

“Uh, I usually listen to the contemporary pop station?” I hesitantly responded. 

“Pop music…”  He smiled softly.  “Hey, you know what?  That’s exactly the kind of style I’ve been thinking about… for the band.”  He added the last part quickly, and I thought I saw a blush start to grow in his cheeks.  He spun around and walked to Sebastian.  “What do you say, Bas? Should we do this?”

Sebastian considered it, catching my eye for just a moment with his own enigmatic gaze before answering.  “…Okay.” He looked down at the keyboard again as Sam came to stand by me again.  I could see the gears starting to turn behind the guitarist’s eyes.

“Thanks for the help, Emmaline.  With my guitar skills, and Sebastian’s wizardry on the synthesizer, we’re gonna be a screaming success. I’m convinced of it!  Now I just need to find someone to play drums…”  He looked meaningfully at me.

“Sam, you know I don’t play anything.”

“You could try!  Maybe you’re a natural!”  He looked over his shoulder at Sebastian.  “She looks like she’d be a natural right?”

Sebastian just shrugged.

“Seriously, Sam, I’m not, and I do not have a good grasp of rhythm.  It would not end well.”

Sam’s shoulders slumped, but he nodded.  “At least stay and listen to us play?  Or you could…”  He cut himself off suddenly.  “Uh, nevermind the last part.  Listen to how awesome we sound now that Bas has joined!”

I was curious about what he didn’t say, but I left it alone.  I took my now customary seat at Sam’s desk, and made an exaggerated motion that I was ready for him to begin.  He laughed, but grabbed his guitar.

\--<>\--

They did well together, and I told Sam as much.  The addition of Sebastian on the synthesizer did make a difference in rounding out the sound to more of that of a band.  I followed Sebastian out of the Hale’s home, politely turning down Jodi’s offer of staying for dinner.  My detour from my walk had added considerably to my procrastination of my farm duties, and I still had errands to run before Pierre’s closed for the day.

“You guys were good.”  Sebastian was pulling out his cigarettes as we walked up to the town square.

“I only tried it because Sam’s been on my case to play for months now.”  He lifted his lighter up to the smoke in his mouth, then glanced at me.  My dislike must have shown more than I thought, as he put the cigarette and lighter back in his pocket.

“Uh, thank you.”  Sebastian nodded.  I grasped for something to change the subject.  “So… Sam guilted you into joining his one-man band?”

“Pretty much.”  He pulled at the neck of his black sweatshirt.

“Don’t you get way too warm in that thing?”  The question blurted out of my mouth before I thought better of asking it.  Of course, it made Sebastian clam up even more, his hair falling into his face.

“I’m so sorry Sebastian, that was rude of me,” I quickly apologized.  “You just look uncomfortable in the heat, and I…”

“It’s okay.”  He still wouldn’t look at me.

“No, it’s obviously not.”  I stopped along the path intending to talk it out, but he continued walking.

“Hey!”  Running to catch up, I grabbed the sleeve of the sweatshirt, the momentum of our connection twisting him towards me.

His hand was on my wrist in an instant, but he was as frozen as I when he saw what he was doing.  Grip firm, but not painful, he stared at my fingers curled in the well-worn fabric. I stared at him. 

“…Sebastian?”  His thumb brushed along my pulse, and I felt it jump in response.  I let him guide my palm open, releasing my grip on his sleeve.  His posture stiffened, then immediately relaxed, a soft, low laugh escaping from his throat.

“You have black marker all over your fingertips.”

I looked down at my fingers.  Smudged across most of them was the ink from my missing permanent marker.  I groaned in resignation.  “I can’t even find the damn thing right now, and it’s still causing trouble for me.”

Sebastian turned my hand over, inspecting the edge of my hand, which I must have dragged through the still drying ink at some point.  He shook his head, but was smiling.  “I’ve never seen a right handed person get this much ink on them unless their pen explodes.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve probably never met someone as cursed with absentmindedness as me either.”  I lamented.  “Please tell me the truth.  Did I rub it all over my face too?”

Our eyes snapped together, and I searched his scrutiny for honesty.  I wasn’t sure _what_ I found.  “As far as I see, you’re clean on that front.”  His eyebrows furrowed.  “Except maybe…”  He released my hand, only to stun me once again as he guided my chin to the left.  His tone deepened as he answered, “Nope, looks good.”  As he pulled his hand away, I felt an electric chill at the absence of his fingers on my skin. 

We stood staring at one another, conversation at a standstill.  The sound of a bell jingling on the general store front door broke the spell, making us both become uncomfortably aware of the short distance between us.  Sebastian jammed his hands into his pockets then.  “Well, I probably shouldn’t keep you.”

“Um, yes.”  My heart was thundering and I fought to think straight.  “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, later.”  He took a couple steps backward, then spun and jogged up the stairs towards the broken down Community Center.  I watched him until he disappeared behind the trees.

“Was that just Seb?”

I shrieked.  “Maru!?”

“Woah!  What the heck?”

“Oh Yoba, I’m sorry Maru, you scared me!”

“How the hell did I scare you?  I called your name when I saw you.”  She looked at me quizzically.  “You _responded._ ”

“I did?”

“You said ‘Hey’, so yes, you did.”

I shook my head.  “It’s been…”  What did you call that just now?  _Electrifying.  Exhilarating.  Terrifying._ “Crazy.  It’s been crazy today.”

\--<>\--

Wading through the burlap sea that was my floor, I collapsed backwards onto my bed.  I had gotten home just in time to start evening chores, and my stomach was growling loudly.  The hunger and exhaustion warred for dominance over my body.  What I wouldn’t do for a bath that _didn’t_ require me to carry buckets of water to a tub, then build up a fire to have hot water.  I briefly considered skinny dipping in my pond before dismissing the idea as too tempting to Murphy’s Law. 

Upside down before me on my bed stand sat the photograph of me and Dad, next to a faded sepia print of a young Grandfather that Lewis had found and given me.  He stood proudly before the farm, acre upon acre showing thriving crops, a watering can in one hand, his hoe in the other.  I studied his sparkling eyes, wondering what his secret to success was.  “How did you do this Grandfather?”  I looked at the crops behind him, standing tall and strong, just like the man who grew them.  As I studied the rows of corn and tomatoes, a small detail caught my eye that I hadn’t noticed before.  Rolling over, I grabbed the photo out of its place.

“What is _that_?”  A tiny set of eyes peaked from behind the wide grass-like leaves of two corn stalks.  It didn’t look like any animal I had ever seen.  A strange feeling crept over me as I studied the creature, sensations of gooseflesh that rolled up my spine and made my hair feel like it was standing on end.  I tore off the frame, hoping to find some sort of explanation on the back of the photograph.

_Summer 1958, Day the Community Center was completed._

Nothing about the strange creature, but the message turned my thoughts to the abandoned Community Center that so many avoided.  Sam even seemed genuinely afraid of it.  I placed the picture back in its frame, and set it carefully back in its spot.  Debating with myself whether to go straight to Lewis to ask about the strange creature, or follow my hunch, I decided to trust my instincts and go to the Community Center.  I hefted myself unwillingly from the comfort of my bed, and made my way to the door.  _Should I bring a weapon?_   The idea seemed silly, the townsfolk of Pelican Town had never been injured by the building.  I put my sickle through the strap in my backpack anyway. 

The sky was turning dusky as I left New Dawn, and I was grateful for the streetlights as they buzzed on above me.  I trudged up the stairs, and followed the overgrown path to the front door of the Community Center.  In the fading light, the shadows seemed to loom under the crawling ivy, and the large red door menaced me in its frame.  Gathering my courage, and releasing my sickle from its holdings, I pushed open the door.  It creaked, and barely gave way as I put my full weight against it.  The hinges were nearly rusted shut, and I could almost smell the iron oxide falling away as metal scraped against metal.  A wave of dust swept out from the door’s arc as it opened. 

I had always found shifting shadows more frightening than full darkness, and this held especially true for the Community Center.  Motes of dust drifted down, illuminated by the orange glow that leaked in through the small windows, and the smell of mold filled my nose.  I felt my way along the wall, the wood paneling beneath my fingers was rough and gaping with holes.  More than once I yanked my hand back, furiously shaking off the remnants of an old cobweb.  Floor planks creaked under my feet, and I worried about falling through to some unknown sub-level of the Center. 

I rounded a corner, and a dim light caught my eye.  Wiping my sweaty hand down my pants, I renewed the grip on my farm tool turned weapon.  My heartbeat echoed through the empty building.  As I peeked around the edge of a doorway, I drew in a sharp breath.  A panel inlaid in the floor glowed with otherworldly light, and behind it sat a creature.  _Just like the picture!_   The small antenna on its head waved gently as if to an invisible breeze, its scrutiny focused on the tablet before it.  I eased my way into the room, grateful there was no squealing door hinges to alert the creature of my progress.  The abrupt change to carpet threw me, however, and as I stumbled forward a few steps, the creature looked up at me.  Standing as still as I could, I watched in awe as it hopped away into nothingness.  It had faded from existence like a ghost. 

I watched, still unmoving, before I was sure it would not return.  The tile it had stood before was still glowing a bright and welcoming golden hue, like it was powered by a miniature less-bright sun.  I knelt to get a better view.  Squinting, I looked past the light to the etchings upon the tablet.  It was no language I had seen before.  My finger traced the odd symbols, a thrilling feeling running up my arm as I did so.  It was like touching a source of life itself.  Images of spring fields of flowers, and grass pushing up through snow came to mind.  I _felt_ the spring breeze tickling me with loose cherry tree petals. 

Gasping, I pulled back.  The visions had felt so realistic, and reality rebounded back hard on me with the encroaching darkness and musty smell of old carpet.  I scrambled to my feet, wanting… no, needing to get out of here.  Haphazardly tracing my steps backwards left me stumbling, but I made it to the front door, which stood open as I had left it.  I leapt the last yard out the entrance, and reluctantly turned to pull the old door closed behind me.  It latched with a heavy clunk, and I took deep breaths as I backed away. 

“What the hell is going on in there?”  As spooked as I was, what truly scared me was an intense desire to go _back inside_.  To return to the tablet, to let that feeling run rampant through my body.  I shuddered and wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trying to hold everything in, separate me from whatever was calling to me.

“Miss Emmaline?  Are you quite all right?”  Mayor Lewis had just come up from town, and was picking up speed seeing me in the process of losing it.

I shook my head.  “Lewis.  Who was my grandfather?  Do you know what’s in that picture you gave me?”  I looked at him pointedly then.  “Do you know what’s in _there_?”  I didn’t let my focus drift back to the community center.  The idea was already too gratifying. 

Lewis breathed deeply, then walked up to the Community Center.  “I can’t say, my dear,” he placed his hand on the red door.  “You went inside?”

“Yes.”

“And you want to go back?”

“Yes.”  I shook my head vigorously to clear it.  “No!  No, I don’t!”

The old man looked at me with sad eyes.  “I think we need to have a discussion.”

\--<>\--

“So, you’re saying that Grandfather led the construction on the Community Center?”  I sat at Mayor Lewis’ table, drinking a steaming cup of decaf.

“He did.  He donated most of the materials, and contributed many hours.  Most of the town grew concerned, to be honest.”

“Why?”

“Your grandpa would go to the Center at odd hours, bringing strange objects, like minerals or pieces of fruit.  Then, when the townsfolk would wake the next day, large projects had been completed- apparently overnight!  He… was obsessed with it.  But everyone loved your grandpa, so they never said anything to him, chalking it up to the eccentricities of a lonely man.”

Lewis set his mug on the table and leaned back in his chair.  “But once it was done… the Valley had prosperity like no time before.  We were blessed.  Our town grew, it became one of the top tourist locations, and we flourished because of it.”

“But the town…” I stopped myself from making my second conversational blunder of the day, but Lewis knew what I had almost said.

“But the town is in shambles now.”  He shook his head.  “It started going downhill the moment your grandpa passed away Emmaline.  Whatever luck he had created with that Community Center left with him.”

I stared at the picture I had picked up from home, intent on showing Lewis the creature I had observed.  The tiny round body peaking around the cornstalk pulled at me, begging me to remember something I had no memories of.

“You told me the Valley speaks to people.  Did you mean it?”

The mayor studied me.  “I did.  Why?”

“I think Grandfather must have found some secret, something that gives Stardew Valley its vitality, and I think these creatures have to do with it.”  I knew I sounded like some nut job, and was half certain that Lewis was going to use the town phone to call professionals to come lock me up in the mental institute in Zuzu. 

“Emmaline…  I’ve lived here my entire life, and while I feel that there is something special about our home, I’ve never even heard of these small creatures.  For all I know, this was a joke your grandpa tried to pull on me.  He _was_ that kind of man.”  Though his words were serious, his eyes were filled with compassion.  “I know you want to reconnect with him, I can see it in the hard work you do on that farm, but…”  The compassion turned to pity and worry.  “I’m afraid you’re working yourself far too hard, my dear.  As much good as that Community Center did for our town, I don’t want to see you fall under the same obsession that plagued your grandpa for so many years.”

The draw to the Center had been fading, and was now a simmering curiosity rather than full blown preoccupation.  “Maybe I am, but maybe I’m not.”  I wasn’t willing to let this go, not after what I had just experienced.  “But something is going on there.”

Lewis’ worry was palpable now.  “Miss Emmaline, please understand I just am concerned for your health…”

“I know Lewis, and I appreciate it.”  I stood, suddenly done with this conversation.  I could imagine why Grandfather wouldn’t speak to people about this.  If he couldn’t trust his closest friend here to believe him, who would?  “I promise, I’m not becoming my grandfather, so please, try not to worry, alright?”  I pushed for sincerity in my voice, wanting to assuage the old man’s fears.  I don’t think it was too successful.

“Alright, Emmaline.  But please, just go home and get some rest tonight, okay?”

I nodded my assent, and Lewis followed me to the door.  “It’s pretty dark out, would you like an escort back to the farm?”  _He doesn’t trust me!_

“Thank you, but I don’t think that’s necessary.  It’s just down the path, and lit most of the way.”  Pasting a large smile on my face, I added, “Plus! This is Pelican Town!  What would happen?”

Waving a brief goodbye, I made my way towards home.  As I turned on to the dirt path towards the farm, I caught out of the corner of my eye a mustachioed face watching me from the edge of the town square.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, little bit of romance, some "spooky" (XD) bits, and a new sub-adventure in plot!
> 
> Emmaline and the guys have known each other for a few months now, and they're starting to feel out what kinds of relationships are growing between them! But fear not! Surprises still abound!
> 
> Let me know what you guys think of my Community Center, and the connections Emmaline's family might have with the land! (Please! I'm a little worried it's cheesy, and I really don't want this story to be!!) It won't be a huge part of the story, but I currently have it as part of Emmaline's progression as a character.
> 
> I would also love feedback if this is too wordy. I felt like I was being repetitive, but not really saying the same thing, yet totally saying the same thing. :P Being accurately descriptive is hard.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! I appreciate each and every one of you! :D  
> MaraDin


	13. Chapter 12: Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: verbal and physical expressions of anger (no bodily harm), psychedelic experience

Chapter 12: Madness

by MaraDin

 

It was another hard night.  My sweat made me yearn to throw the blankets off my body, but I continued to lay in the soaked sheets.  I tried to calm my hitching breaths, anxiety still thundering through my veins.  The reflexive insomnia that had plagued me for the last week since my impromptu trip into the Community Center warred with the exhaustion that tried to pull me back into the hell of my nightmares.

_The shrieks and pleading of my parents reverberated through the thin walls of the apartment, interspersed with the shattering of some item thrown by my mother against a wall.   My muscles tensed involuntarily as a glass exploded upon impact.  I pulled the covers tighter over my head, trying to ball up the fabric in my fists and force it into my ears to block out the sickening lullaby I knew too well.  I didn’t cry.  She would hear me, and it would just make her angrier._

The nightmare was on repeat in my brain, haunting me every time I tried to close my eyes and relax.  I looked like hell, and had been avoiding everyone as much as possible to keep the questions away.  It wasn’t going to work much longer.  There was only so much concealer you could put over baggy eyes before people started calling you on it.  I groaned, and curled in on myself further.  My eyelids hung heavy on my face, drooping only to be caught at the last second as my memories so kindly dumped the next depressing image into my brain for recollection.  It was like a floodgate had been opened, and the memories I had so neatly boxed up and shoved into the back of my brain attic were blasting out cartoon style across my mind’s eye.  I didn’t want to deal with this, not now, not ever again.  I forced my eyes wide under the covers, though the same darkness surrounded me whether they were open or shut.  Coaching myself to breathe deep breaths, I pulled down the entangling blankets, and looked at the red numbers glowing steadily at me.

It wasn’t _too_ early to get up.

Forcing myself to forgo the safety of the bed, I peeled the sticky sheets from my body, shivering not so much at the temperature as the feeling of vulnerability the action produced.  I snatched the wool robe I had gotten from Marnie, and began my morning routine.   _First step, bath._

\--<>\--

I had finished watering as the sunrise finally broke over the top of the trees.  The watering can dripped its usual staccato rhythm on the pavement from its leaky soldering as I shielded my eyes from the bright rays.  Dumping the remainder of the water back in the well, I hung the rickety can on its nearby hook. 

I still had trouble identifying the seedlings from the weeds, but I was learning.  After my discussion with Lewis, I had gone searching for more clues about Grandfather.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, all I found were some books about basic gardening and farming shoved behind the television.  They held tips that seemed to be helping me grow plants, but didn’t give me any answers in regards to the mystic phenomena I had encountered.  _If only I could figure out Grandfather’s shorthand…_   The margins were filled two and three word phrases, or odd combinations of letters, such as “Ask wiz” and “JA”.  Pouring through the books gave no insight into what they might be referring to, no farming terms matched the phrases in any way that made sense in context.

I hadn’t had the courage to return to the Community Center, though I was sure that was my only chance for more answers.  I shivered.  The memory of its pull on me still made my skin crawl.  I shook myself, rubbing away the gooseflesh on my arms.  I still had things to do today, and I wasn’t going to let this distract me.

My boots thumped solidly on the cobblestone path I had laid in front of the house.  I would ship the last few pints of strawberries my plants produced before heading out to Marnie’s…  I had promised to learn animal care before attempting it on my own.  I couldn’t even always keep the plants I had sown alive, I wasn’t going to go in blind with something that depended on me for food and safety.

The bright red flag on my mailbox caught my eye.  _Didn’t Pierre already have the summer sale?_   I placed the strawberries in the shipping box, and walked back to rosy indicator of incoming information.  Tugging at the stubborn wooden door of the box, I stumbled back a step as it finally gave way.  A single letter sat on the bottom. 

I was entranced.  The envelope shimmered a shade of midnight violet as the sun struck its surface.  A single word embossed in golden, flowing script adorned the front.  _Emmaline_.

My finger slid smoothly under the seam in the back, opening the parcel with ease.  A delicate, pearlescent slip of paper slid out into my hand.  Blotchy writing, as with an old fountain pen, scrawled across the surface.

_“My sources tell me you’ve been poking around inside the old community center._

_Why don’t you come pay me a visit?_

_My chambers are west of the forest lake, in the stone tower.  I may have information concerning your unusual encounter._

_-M. Rasmodius, Wizard”_

I gaped at the words.  _Wizard?  Stone tower?_   I had been up and down the Cindersap Forest collecting food and materials, and had never once seen or heard of such a place.  The letters scratched across the smooth page caught my attention once more as I watched them melt together to form a new phrase.

_“P.S.  Don’t tell anyone else.  Come alone.”_

I dropped the paper and envelope like they had stung me.  Not trusting the mystical transcription, I didn’t take my eyes off it as I edged away.   It sat, shimmering on the tufts of wild grass that grew untamed around my mailbox, acting just as a normal piece of paper and its envelope would.  I nudged it with the toe of my boot.  The mud that fell on it slid off, not even staining the paper.  Staring at it, I deliberated.  The louder part of my brain was telling me to get away from it, but a small voice reasoned that I couldn’t just leave it on the ground, I _knew_ what it was.  It was my chance.  Maybe my only chance.  I needed that invitation to the Wizard, Rasmodius, whoever he may be.

_Marnie’s going to have to wait._

\--<>\--

“I’m so sorry, Marnie!  It came up so unexpectedly.”

The older woman looked down at me, her looming frame shielding my face from the light above us.  Her expression was stern, and I braced myself for the rebuke sure to follow, not able to hold her gaze.

“I understand.”

The words had my eyes flicking back to hers.  “Huh?”

“I won’t sell you any animals until you finish my training, but life happens.  I know that.”  What I had interpreted as sternness was morphing in my mind into a look of concern.  “You go get what you need to send your father.  His health must be very important to you.”

“Oh, yes, thank you.”  I waved goodbye, then left the ranch cottage.  My ruse of needing to gather medicine for my father’s cold worked too well, it seemed.  The guilt of my untruthfulness stung, but it was for an important cause.  I shoved the feeling aside, and began making my way along the animal trails carved out of the unruly forest. 

_West, past the lake, a large stone tower…_

Following my normal path I took while gathering, I tried to peer through the thick layer of leaves that hid the sky, still not really believing I would find this tower.  The quiet of the forest tugged at my anxiety, making me wonder if I had imagined the letter… or worse, that I was losing my sanity like my grandfather, as Lewis claimed.  Maybe I was chasing a figment of my own psychosis. 

The lack of sounds unnerved me, no birds chirped, no insects hummed as I moved deeper into the brush.  _Someone is going to find me out here, covered in Yoba knows what, spouting nonsense to the sky._   I felt my stomach drop as I imagined Robin, or Dem, or Maru, or even Sam or Sebastian seeing me in full on lunatic mode.  I almost turned around at the image, but instead I simply stopped walking and waited for the panic to recede. 

I smelled it then.  The scent of something sickeningly sweet and piney, not the normal smells of fresh leaves and moist earth.  It made me gag, but I held it back and walked toward the disgusting smell.  As I pushed past a large bush, the forest abruptly gave way, exposing a large, stone tower up a small hill. 

“I found it,” I said, astonished.  “It actually exists.”  The nagging thought that my brain was creating this still tugged at a mental sleeve, but I ignored it.

Flowering vines crawled up the side of the tower, filling in holes left by bricks that had long ago fallen out.  A chime rang softly above me, dangling from the lip of the roof.  The hodgepodge of windows stuck in the sides of the tower didn’t match, and a strange mechanism that looked like a bent telescope stuck through a hole at the top.

My pocket tugged, and I nearly shouted aloud in shock.  The letter I had placed there drew itself out, and floated to a crate beside the tower’s front door.  I snuck closer, following the path the note had taken.  As I approached, I watched the letters melt and reform once more.  Only one word materialized.

“Enter.”

\--<>\--

Gathering my courage, I pushed at the wooden door.  It was heavy, but not rusted as the decay on the outside of the tower might have indicated.  The smell hit me again as the door swung inward, a blast of too warm air made me hesitant to leave the comfort of the small breeze outside.  A voice interrupted me.

“Ah… Come in.”

I made myself take a deep breath, the revolting scent making my eyes water, and did as the voice commanded.  A man stood before a symbol drawn in chalk, with candles at the points of the design inside.  His robes moved with a breeze I didn’t feel, and the low light, combined with his hat, hid his eyes from me.  Seeing me come in, he walked closer.

“I am Rasmodius… Seeker of the arcane truths.  Mediary between physical and ethereal.  Master of the seven elementals.  Keeper of the sacred cha-… you get the point.”  He took another step towards me.  “And you… Emmaline Margaret Avenell.  The one whose arrival I have long forseen.”  My heart froze at my middle name.  I had _never_ mentioned it to anyone here.  Not even Maru or Doc Harvey when filling out my medical records.  The wizard didn’t seem to notice the reaction his words caused.

“Here, I’d like to show you something.”  He turned towards the emblem on the floor.  “Behold!”

With a great flash of light, one of the tiny beings burst into existence in the middle of the design.  It pushed against the barrier of light, chirping and wiggling agitatedly. 

“You’ve seen one before, haven’t you?”  He paced away from me.  “They call themselves the ‘Junimos’…  Mysterious spirits, these ones… For some reason they refuse to speak with me.”

With another flash, the creature disappeared.

“I’m not sure why they’ve moved into the Community Center, but you have no reason to fear them.”

He looked up at me then, my eyes barely catching the movement as I stared at the spot the “Junimo” vanished from. 

“Ah, yes, that’s right.  You also discovered something else there didn’t you?  I could sense the residual magic as you left, no Junimo would have that power.  What was it?”

I brought my gaze up to meet where I sure his lay, and considered.  _Do I tell him?  Do I trust him?_   I thought about the golden tablet with the strange markings on it.

“Hmm?  You found a golden scroll written in an unknown language?  Most interesting.”  He must have seen the shock display on my face.  “I’m sorry, Emmaline, you nearly shouted the idea at me.”  He moved closer, and I leaned back instinctively. 

He sighed, and spoke gently.  “Stay here.  I’m going to see for myself.  I’ll return shortly.”  With a spin on his heel, he transported himself away. 

I found myself gasping as soon as I was sure I was alone.  The whole ordeal was making my head spin, and my heartbeat echoed in my ears.  I jumped as I heard the front door open behind me, the wizard letting himself back inside.  Walking to me directly, he continued his monologue.

“I found the note.  The language is obscure, but I was able to decipher it: ‘We, the Junimo, are happy to aid you.  In return, we ask for gifts of the valley.  If you are one with the forest then you will see the true nature of this scroll.”

_Gifts of the valley?  Happy to aid you?_

The wizard moved to loom over his pot of green goop.  “Hmm… ‘One with the forest’… What do they mean?”  He sniffed the simmering mixture.  “Ah-hah!”  Turning towards me, he called out, “Come here!”

He motioned me to stand in front of the pot.  “My cauldron is bubbling with ingredients from the forest.  Baby fern, moss grub, caramel-top toadstool… Can you smell it?”  Leaning past me, he grabbed a cup and ladle.  “Here. Drink up.  Let the essence of the forest permeate your body.”

Just standing over the cauldron without losing my breakfast was challenge enough, and now this mysterious man wanted me to drink it?  I started to refuse, but as my hands touched the cup to push it away, something snapped in my mind.  I grabbed the clay mug, and chugged the potion as quickly as I could. 

The tears spilled over onto my cheeks immediately as I fought the roiling in my stomach.  I didn’t want this!  _What is happening!_

I felt myself fall to the floor of the tower, convulsing violently as my vision turned green, and I began to see dancing leaves and trees.  Strange sounds, like the forest was amplified a million times, rung in my ears.  The trees grew and swayed, their branches tasting of laughter, and their leaves falling like snow.  I tumbled through them, sinking into the dark green sludge of this nightmare, fighting to breathe.

 _Why did I come here?  What was I thinking?_   As my consciousness faded, I turned to the little, nagging worry that I was crazy, and clung to it with all my might.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter! Still waiting for my in-depth beta/editor, but I have really been wanting to get SOMETHING out there! Thank you guys for being so patient and sticking with me through the dry spells! I promise, there is a whole story I've outlined, it's just getting from one point to the other that takes a bit!
> 
> Onto other notes: So, I guess Marnie is very short in the game, but I've always imagined her as practically a giantess. Maybe it's her personality? In any case, Marnie is like 6 ft. tall in this universe.
> 
> Secondly, I replayed the intro to the Wizard scene to get the wording, and that Junimo looks/sounds scared as hell. I don't think it was summoned willingly...
> 
> Thirdly, I've written this while on prescription cough syrup for bronchitis, so I'm REALLY hoping it makes all the sense to you all as it does to me! XD
> 
> Thank you all my readers! You are appreciated! You guys rock!  
> MaraDin


	14. Chapter 13: Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Medical/hospital setting and associated actions, stomach illness/vomiting, discussions of drug use

Chapter 13: Realizations

by MaraDin

 

“Sam!  Sam!”

The door bounced off my bedroom wall with a crash as Vincent scrambled through it.  Contrary to his normally boundless energy, he looked shaken and exhausted. 

“Vince!”  I dropped my guitar haphazardly on my bed, and caught him up in my arms as he threw himself at me.  “Hey, what’s wrong Bud?”

“Miss Penny!” he panted. “You have to go help her!”

I was already up, letting him lead me out of the house.  “What happened Vincent?  Is Penny okay?”

“She’s fine, but someone is hurt in the forest!  Miss Penny sent me to get help!”

“Who is hurt Vincent?”  I tried to stay calm for him, but the feeling that I already knew clawed at me.

“It’s Miss Emmaline,” his face sobered, “She was running really funny.  Falling down a lot.  I think she’s sick or something.”  I could feel the blood drain from my face, but I kept my stride steady as we approached the makeshift classroom on a worn picnic blanket.

I saw the panic on Penny’s face as we approached and my heart dropped.  “Penny, what’s going on?”

Instead of responding to me, Penny addressed Vincent.  “Why don’t you go help Jas, Vincent?  She’s very scared and could use a friend.”  The boy nodded, and went to his classmate.  I was proud to see him put on a brave face for her.

“Sam.”  Penny’s voice was quiet and slightly breathless, and I stepped close to hear her.  “I’m glad you’re here.  Something’s wrong with Emmaline, but I couldn’t go chase after her with the kids here.  Jas is a wreck, and I couldn’t just leave her, and I sent Vincent…” The wild terror in her eyes grew as her speech accelerated.  I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“Which way Penny?”

The young woman pointed, and I nodded.  “Take them back to town, get Doc Harvey.  I’ll find her, don’t worry.”  I coaxed her to take a deep breath, and then turned to jog into the forest.

My own barely repressed panic began to leak from me as harsh puffs of air as I ran.  I could see broken bush branches and the disruption of leaves from someone falling onto them, and struggling to regain their feet.  The smell of vomit hit me not long after.  _What the hell is going on?_   She wasn’t running towards home, just further into the brush, seemingly without direction.

“Emmaline!” I called out.  “Hey, Emmaline!”  My imagination wasn’t helping, and I cycled through ideas, each more terrible than the last.  Had she been attacked by something?  As far as I knew there weren’t any monsters outside of the mine, so that didn’t seem likely.  What if she’s been poisoned?  I knew the idea was ridiculous the moment I thought it, if there were poisonous plants out here, she’d know them by now.

I was so lost in my nightmarish visions I nearly missed the abrupt end of the trail, and the body of my friend just to the side.

“Emmaline!”  She was grasping a low hanging branch, her knuckles white as she hunched over.  Green vomit spewed from her mouth and nose, and she gagged when she tried to catch her breath.  My own stomach turned at witnessing her illness, but I reached out to her slowly.

“Hey, Emma,” I started. “It’s Sam, are you okay?”

The terror in her expression as she twisted to face me drew me up short.  She looked through me, then at me, then through me again, as if I was disappearing and reappearing in her sight.  She turned and vomited again, the force knocking her to her knees.

I raced to support her as the heaving continued, though it seemed that she didn’t have much left to expel.  My arms around her kept her from falling face first into the mess she had made, and she looked at them, confused, before her gaze traveled to my face.  She recognized me then, finally.

“Sam?” Her voice rasped against what I’m sure was a killer sore throat.

“You don’t look so good Emma.”  I tried my best to put on a teasing smile.

“I…  I don’t feel so…” She stopped, and I thought another wave of dry heaves was coming, but instead, she suddenly slumped against me, body completely limp.

“Emmaline!” I struggled to hold her, her weight now completely resting on me.  “Shit!”  I pulled her further into my lap, not knowing what to do.

“Sam!”  I heard a deep voice bellow down the broken path I had followed.  “Sam!  Emmaline!”

“We’re here!” I called out.  “Keep following the path!”  I swept the hair out of Emmaline’s face, she seemed to be breathing okay, at least.  _Did she pass out?_

Both Harvey and Maru pushed their way into the small space, both faces already displaying duty and concern for their patient.  They looked at me, and I looked back.  “She’s sleeping, I think.” I said stupidly. 

“Can you lay her down next to you, Sam?”  Harvey’s voice was reassuring.

I did so, although not completely willingly.  I didn’t understand the terms they used as they traced their hands down Emmaline’s body, poking and prodding at points, and taking medical measurements with their tools.

“BP 148 over 92, doctor.  Pulse 87.”

“Little high for resting state…”

“She has significant eye movement as well, doctor.”

“Note it in the chart, we’ll keep a watch on it.  I’ll have to do more tests, but it looks like she may have collapsed due to exhaustion.”

“She’s been sick.” I pointed to the puddle of green vomit behind me.  “She threw up a lot on the way here too.”

“She was conscious when you found her?” Maru asked.

“Well, kind of, I guess.  It was like I only kind of existed to her, at least until right before she passed out.  She recognized me then.”

The two shared a look that I couldn’t decipher, but didn’t say anything. 

“So, what now?” I asked hesitantly.

“We need to get her out of here.” Harvey surveyed the trail we had made to reach Emmaline.  “But we’re not going to be able to get a stretcher.”  He looked up at me.  “Sam, she was upright when you found her?”

“Yeah.”

“She doesn’t appear to have any external injuries, so I think we’re safe to carry her out without one.”  Harvey began to reach down for Emmaline, calling to Maru to get her legs.

“Wait!” I cried.  The pair stared at me. “Wait, I can carry her.  If one of you got hurt moving her, who could help?”  I turned around, still crouched.  “Put her on my back, we can piggy-back it out of here.”

I waited in awkward silence, fighting the urge to run my hand through my hair at the embarrassment of my outburst.  I was saved when Maru broke it, saying, “Well, he’s got a point.” 

With Harvey’s help, Maru got Emmaline situated on my back.  Her arms hung limp over my shoulders, and her breath tickled the hairs at the nape of my neck.  I could feel the blush spread up my face as I linked my hands under her to keep her from falling off.

Harvey led the way and I followed, leaning forward to keep Emmaline centered on my back.  The feeling of her steady breathing comforted me, a constant reassurance that I had found her in time.  _Everything’s going to be okay now.  We’ll get you to the medical center, and you can rest._

I carefully planted my feet every step, not wanting to take the smallest chance of dropping her.  _I wish you could hold on to me, it would make this a hell of a lot easier._   I grinned to myself before a new idea took the place of the humorous one, sliding stealthily into my brain, unbidden. _I wish we could hold on to each other._   I almost did stumble then, the weight of my realization slugging me straight in the heart.  The pieces started falling into place in my mind.  I was so scared for her, I knew, _I knew_ who it was as soon as Vincent had told me someone was hurt.  I couldn’t bear to think of something happening to this woman, and the intensity of that fear scared me. 

Maru must have heard my breathing speed up, since she asked, “Hey, you doing okay?  We can take a break, but we’re almost out.”

I swallowed hard, and tried to keep my voice steady as I responded. “Nope, good to go.  She’s just a compact little farmer nowadays!” I was glad Maru was following behind us and couldn’t see my face.  And thank Yoba she was much smarter in a rational than emotional sense.

“She has gained quite a bit of muscle in the months she’s been in town, I agree.” 

We broke through the trees and I could see a small crowd had gathered at the edge of town in front of Marnie’s ranch.  I tried to pull my face into what would be seen as worried instead of in shock.  Vincent and Jas were still with Penny, who waited by a bed on wheels. 

“Oh good, they’ve brought the gurney like I asked.”  Harvey sounded relieved, and called over his shoulder.  “You’ve just got to get her to that, Sam.”

“Okay.”  I fought the urge to keep carrying Emmaline, I knew she’d be better cared for on that bed.  I didn’t want to let her go, especially not _now_ , not when I had just passed the point of no return.  She meant more to me than just a friend.  I knew that at least, if not exactly what it meant for me.  _For us?_

I allowed Maru to help me get Emmaline down, wondering if it was just my imagination that she tried to hold on to me at the last moment. 

“Is she okay?”  Vincent’s hand grasped the edge of my worn blue jacket.  His eyes were still wide with worry.

“She’s going to be okay,” I promised him, “Doc says she just got too tired and it made her sick.”

“Then she should take a nap.”  Almost surprised, I looked down at him.  He hated naps.  Vincent was staring up at me.  “Mom’s right, naps _are_ important.” 

“Yes they are, and it might be a good idea for a little boy to take one now.”  My mom’s voice cut in gently to our conversation.  Her own expression held worry, but it was hidden behind a soft smile for my little brother.

Vincent made a tiny frown, but then conceded and ran back to the house.  Mom looked me over critically.

“You look fine, but you don’t seem okay.”  She watched as my gaze drifted over to where Emmaline was being pushed into town towards the clinic. “Is your friend going to be all right?”

It took me a minute to drag my attention back to her.  “Um, yeah.  Harvey says it’s exhaustion, most likely.”  My gaze darted back to the hospital procession, only to find they had turned the corner around the Kimbrel’s house.  Heart suddenly racing, I unconsciously took half a step in that direction.

“Sam?” My mom looked up at me, and placed a hand on my arm. “Why don’t you go with them; I’m sure Emmaline would appreciate a friend when she wakes up.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right Mom.  Ah, I’ll be back later then.”

“Don’t stay gone too long, they don’t need two patients!” She called after me, already more than a few paces away.

“Okay!”

\--<>\--

“Nurse, get a blood draw, I want her fluid and electrolyte levels as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

By the time I had reached them, the crowd had dispersed, and Maru and Harvey were rolling Emmaline through the clinic front door.

“Put her on a saline drip regardless, she’s probably dehydrated.”  Absorbed in their work as they were, they didn’t notice me following them to the back rooms until I was nearly touching the gurney. 

“Sam!” exclaimed Maru, shocked at my seemingly sudden appearance.

Harvey’s head popped up from a hastily scribbled chart.  “You can’t be in here!”

I froze, stuck between obedience and the need to stay by Emmaline’s side.

“Go!” Maru shoved me back towards the waiting room.  “I’ll come get you when you can come in.”

She didn’t wait for my answer, simply pushed me through the door and rushed back to her job.  I watched through the glass oval window until I couldn’t see them anymore.  Realizing they weren’t coming back, I turned away and plopped myself into one of the blue cushioned chairs to wait. 

The oppressive quiet of the room did nothing to silence the vortex of thoughts in my head.  They were insistent, demanding answers I didn’t have.  _Was Emmaline going to be okay?  Why did it bother me_ this much _?  Why did I want to break into that room, no matter if I was in the way or not?  Why did I so desperately want to see her?_ I shied away from the answer.  _I just want to hold her until she’s okay.  So I’m sure she’s okay,_ I tried to reason with myself.  But that was only half the truth, and I knew it.  This was different than what I’d worry for Bas, and he was my best friend.  I’d had crushes, sure, cute girls in Zuzu when I’d gone to school, but this wasn’t like that either.  I’d never considered them my _friends_ , and trying to apply that schoolboy feeling to my view of Emmaline just felt wrong. 

I was still grumbling to myself when Maru stepped into the waiting room.  “You can go in now.  She’s as stable as she’s going to be.”  I shot out of my chair.

“Woah!”  The nurse put a hand against my chest, stopping my hasty flight down the hall. “She’s still sleeping, and probably won’t be up for a while.”

I sidled past her, but checked my speed to a brisk walk.  “What’s wrong with her?” I asked.

“It looks like exhaustion and dehydration, but we’re running bloodwork now.”

We rounded the corner and I looked anxiously at the green dividers.  Maru passed me, heading for a section of the room in the corner.  I followed her, breath catching as I saw the IV attached to Emmaline’s arm, the steady flickering of a heart monitor beside it.  Dragging a small stool up to the bedside, I hesitantly took her hand in both of mine. 

“Hey Emma,” I said, “You look even worse now.”

“I doubt she’s hearing you.  She’s most likely in REM, according to the doctor.  Just look at her face, she looks like she hasn’t slept in days, regardless of whatever made her sick.”

I looked more closely then, and Maru was right.  Dark bags hung under Emmaline’s eyes, despite her face looking serene in her sleep.  I squeezed the hand I held gently.  _Why didn’t you get more rest?  I know you want to do good with the farm stuff, but you can’t beat yourself up like this to do it._

“Nurse Maru?”  Harvey’s voice called from the edge of the room.  “There’s something you should see.”  I considered following her out, but decided against it.  I wanted to be here if Emmaline woke up.

Straining my ears, I could barely make out what they were whispering.  “The levels are off the charts, if she hadn’t vomited so much she probably wouldn’t have made it.”  My hands tightened around the one I held.

“Mescaline? Psilocybin?  Do those plants even grow here?”

“Yes, but you’d have to really hunt to gather this much.  This isn’t some random accidental mushroom poisoning.  And it fits the symptoms Sam described of when he found her.  She’s likely still hallucinating, or at least dreaming by this point.”

_Hallucinating?  Mushroom poisoning?_   I looked at Emmaline, shock writ large on my face.  It sounded like they were saying she tried to… what?  Get high?  Poison herself?  Neither sounded like the woman I knew, so dedicated to restoring her grandfather’s farm.  I put it to the back of my mind, determined to hear the story from Emmaline herself.

“Go ahead a treat her with charcoal as soon as we can, but that’s about as much as we can do now.  She’s already helped herself through the worst of it.  We… we’ll have to discuss drug use treatment when she wakes up.”  I could sense the awkwardness of Harvey’s words from here.

“Yes Doctor.”  I looked down, trying to pretend I didn’t hear their conversation as Maru came back into the little alcove.  She took a bottle of dark pills out from a cabinet, and placed a glass next to them. 

“If she wakes up, give her two of these, and make sure she drinks a whole glass of water with them.”  Maru didn’t bother to ask if I was staying, and turned to leave.

“Hey, Maru?”

“Yeah Sam?”

“When will she wake up?”

“We don’t know.  Soon, hopefully.”  My expression must have displayed the turmoil going on inside me.  “She’s just asleep, no coma, no other medical things you need to worry about.  She’ll wake up when she’s rested.”  She sighed.  “I’ll be here all night, so you really don’t need to worry.  And Harvey lives just upstairs.  She’s in good hands, Sam.”

Hesitating just a moment longer, she added, “You can stay until closing, but you’ll need to go then.”  I nodded, and she left.

I didn’t try to sort out my thoughts or feelings after that.   Instead, I let them flow through me unhindered, littered with memories of the woman before me.  Amused, I thought of how she always seemed to become more energized when I played for her, and decided that I would bring my guitar tomorrow and play for her all day, if I needed to.

The skin on the top of her hand was soft, compared to the calluses underneath gained through months of hard work on the farm.  I watched my own fingertips, toughened from the strings of my guitar trace a repeating pattern over her knuckles.  I spoke my next thoughts quietly, for her ears alone.

“You know what?  Who cares what this is.”  I smiled at Emmaline’s sleeping form.  “You matter to me.  That’s all I need to know.”

\--<>\--

_MARU_

He had fallen asleep, slumped over onto the edge of the bed when I finally got back.  I set my overnight bag on the end table, and went to wake Sam up.  Reaching out to shake him awake, I glimpsed his hand still wrapped snuggly around my friend’s.  It wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed the shift today, the wild look in his eyes when he saw her hooked up to the equipment.    

I nudged him carefully on the shoulder, not wanting to topple him off the stool.  “Hey, Sam.  You’ve got to go home.”

His eyes opened groggily, but muttered a short, “Sure.”  He stumbled to his feet, lanky frame working against him in his disorientation.

“We’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course.”

I smirked a little.  “Of course.”’

He let himself out of the clinic, the tiny bell hanging from the doorknob chiming merrily.  I looked over at Emmaline, still as immobile and silent as she had been when we brought her in.  A quick check showed her vitals to be fine, so I pulled another blanket over her and turned out the lights to the convalescence area. 

“Sleep well, Emmaline.  I think things are going to be quite a bit different when you wake up.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahaha! It's only been WAY TOO LONG since I've posted anything on this. I so much apologize!
> 
> But surprise! The dynamic is changing! Did you like it? Was it too sudden? It's very undefined at the moment, Sam is experiencing a new kind of feeling, and who knows what that will bring? Are emotions just running high? Is this something more permanent? How will he respond? You will just have to keep reading! XD
> 
> I'm hoping it's not confusing, but I'm trying to write the POV's from a non-omniscient standing. What the characters think may or may not be the actual reality of things, but sometimes I think that a perspective can be even more meaningful than the truth. 
> 
> Thank you all again for sticking with me! You are amazeballs!  
> MaraDin


	15. Chapter 14: Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Brief descriptions of panic/anxiety

Chapter 14: Waking Up

by MaraDin

 

Sam had been at the clinic for the past ten hours. 

“You missed game night.”

He strummed his guitar quietly, looking at her.  “I know.”

“Maru said she’s just sleeping.”  She’d also made me come here to get Sam to go home. 

“I know.”

“Then what the hell?  She’ll wake up when she’s ready to.”  I was getting annoyed.  I mean, yeah, Sam claimed to be her friend. _“I’m the only one she’s really got that can sit her with her.”_   But ten hours was a little much, even for my eccentric friend.  Already miffed about game night, my patience was thin.  It hadn’t helped that Abigail kept bugging me to call Maru, since Sam was just going to be at the clinic anyway.  As if I wanted to invite my half-sister to one of the few times I didn’t have to interact with her.

“You gotta go home Sam.”  Even leaning against the wall, my feet were getting tired, and Sam was monopolizing the only chair. 

“But I think she’s going to wake up soon.  She’s talking now.”

“In her sleep.  She probably does that normally.”  I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to grab Sam’s attention.  “And Maru’s here again tonight, don’t you think she’d rather wake up to see her than your ugly mug?”

Annoyance flashed across Sam’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.  “Ha ha.”  My words must have gotten to him though.  He stopped playing his guitar, letting it hang from the strap across his shoulder. 

“Come on,” I prodded, “You need to get rest too.”  I wasn’t close to tired yet, but looking at my friend’s haggard face, I knew he was exhausted.

Sam stood and stretched, joints cracking from being in the same position for so long.  He looked down at Emmaline, sleeping fitfully.  I followed his gaze.  Her expressions changed rapidly, but fear seemed to be prominent.  I looked away, not wanting to intrude on her privacy, only to catch Sam’s own expression of worry as he watched.  His voice was barely a whisper as he asked, “What if she’s having a nightmare?”

I sighed.  “If she is, then it’s her business, not ours, and she probably wouldn’t be comfortable knowing we were watching her have it.”  Pushing Sam gently towards the exit of the makeshift room, I continued, “She’s an adult, let her deal with it her way.”

Sam finally relented, and walked towards the exit after another brief glance at Emmaline.  Sometimes he was too nice for his own good.

“You go on, get home.  I’ve got to talk to Maru before I head out.”  He looked hesitant. “Go.” I commanded, and then waited to hear the clinic door close before I headed back into Emmaline’s area to grab Maru’s stuff. 

“No!”  I jumped and spun as the shout rang out behind me.  “Please!  Don’t!” her voice begged.

I was frozen as I watched her fight the blankets on top of her, the heart rate monitor spiking until the cord ripped free and it flatlined.  I wasn’t close enough to catch her when she rolled straight out of the bed.

“Emmaline!”  Maru’s shout surprised me.  I hadn’t realized she’d run into the room.  She looked at me reproachfully.  “Why didn’t you call me?  How did she get like this?  The alarm went off that her heart rate had stopped!”

“Sorry!” I bit back.  “She just went crazy!  Scared the shit out of me.”

The young woman on the floor was curled up, the blankets pulled tight over her head.

Maru went over to her, “Emmaline?  Hey, are you awake?”

The ball of blankets pulled tighter.  “It’s me, Maru, you’re at the clinic.  You…” Maru trailed off for a moment.  “You had an accident in the woods yesterday.  We took you here to take care of you.”

Silence followed.  Slowly, the top of the blanket lowered enough to show eyes filled with barely repressed terror, the low light behind me reflecting off pupils blown wide.  My own panic started to rise at the sight, but I tamped it down.  I watched as Maru carefully put a hand on where Emmaline’s arm must have been, and the death grip on the blankets relaxed. 

“Let’s get you up off the floor.” Maru glanced back at me.  “Seb is here too, can he help?”

A nod of assent is all she gave.  I stepped forward hesitantly, then paused, not knowing what to do.

“Why don’t you sit up, and Seb can take the blankets.  Then we’ll get you settled back on the bed.”

Another nod, and I was able to take the blankets from the floor.  Placing them at the foot of the bed, I waited for more instructions.

“There.” Maru said in a reassuring voice, “See, much better than the floor.”

Emmaline was starting to look like herself again, albeit still fatigued.  Her words were scratchy as they came out, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.”  It was out of my mouth before I realized what was happening.  “Although Sam’s going to be pissed he missed it.”

Her puzzled look belied her curiosity, but she didn’t ask.  I explained anyway.  “He’s been sitting here playing his guitar all day, waiting for you to wake up.  I just sent him home like five minutes ago.”  _He’ll be able to say I told you so, though._

“He has?”  She seemed incredulous, but I guess she didn’t know Sam like I did.

“Yeah, going on about being your best friend in this town, and whatever.”

A small smile graced her lips at that, as if she was remembering something amusing.  Maybe she did know Sam better than I gave her credit for.

Maru was checking Emmaline’s vitals as we spoke, and when the conversation lulled she gave me the _look_.  It was Mom’s look, and I knew I was supposed to keep talking.

I cleared my throat, “I think I might have to rub it in his face, just to see the reaction.  It’s always great beating Sam at something.”  I smiled, remembering the look of utter defeat every Friday at the Saloon.  “He’s always so eager to get a rematch.”  I pretended to consider something.  “You know, maybe I’d better try to be your best friend too, just to goad him.”

She laughed at this, and I grinned back.  _You know, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all, having her as a friend._   Emmaline was more interesting than I had expected, or maybe I had just never looked closely enough.  She was Maru’s friend, and I guess that had stopped her from being mine.  I decided that would change.  _Plus, Sam sure seems to like her, so why not give it a shot?_

“Well, if you two are done teasing Sam behind his back, I think Emmaline should probably get back in bed.”  The panic returned to her face but for a moment before it was wrestled into submission.

“You’re probably right.”  Emmaline turned to look up at me, the smile on her face surprisingly a genuine one.  “Thanks Sebastian.”  I nodded, a little uneasy with the gratefulness in her tone.

“No problem.”  I thought about walking out then, but continued, “And I wasn’t kidding, you know.  You should hang out with the group some times.  …Or come say hi when you visit Mom or Maru.”  I almost wanted to shove the words back in my mouth, but they were already out. 

“…I’ll do that.” She responded, and I felt the awkwardness we both exuded.

I turned to Maru.  “I’ll go now, your stuff’s right there.” I pointed to the duffle bag on the floor to my left.  “See ya.”

“’Night Seb.”  My sister’s dismissal had me hurrying out of the room.  I heard the bell on the door chime cheerfully as it closed.

The street lights were on, and it was fully night as I walked home.  I tapped out a cigarette as I walked, lighting it and letting the tobacco calm me.  My desire to avoid social obligations warred with my new interest in the town’s farmer.  _I really should give her a chance.  Especially if Sam deemed her “best friend” material._   It was becoming obvious to me that she had her own demons, and while I hated admitting it, the fact drew me to her.  I wanted to get to know her more.

The summer sky was bright with a full moon as I walked, and I could see my smoke curl up into the night.  It wasn’t necessary, even in the dark I knew my way back home.  Looking to my right, I considered going to my spot by the lake for a bit, but knew Mom would want an update on how Maru was doing.  She’d barely been home since the whole thing happened.  I crushed my cigarette into the gravel before pushing open the front door.

“Hey.”  I called out, hoping no one would actually hear me.

“Sebby?”  _Damn._   “I’m in the kitchen.”

Glancing longingly at my stairwell, I made my way there.  “Hey Mom.”

She was sitting at the table with her mug of decaf coffee held in both hands.  “How was your sister?”

I let my automatic correction of “half” slide, and answered, “She’s doing pretty good, I think.  The farmer woke up while I was there.”

“Oh?”  She sipped her coffee again.

“Yeah, had some sort of nightmare and rolled right off the hospital bed.”  I took my seat at the table.  “I helped Maru get her back up, then came home.  That’s why it took me so long.”

“That was kind of you.”  We sat in silence for a few moments, then she continued, “I’m glad to hear Emmaline’s getting better.  She’s a nice girl.”  I heard the subtle tone Mom got when she was thinking of trying to make me date.  She hadn’t pushed it after me and Abigail didn’t work out in high school, but I could still hear the longing in her voice. 

My emotional walls must have been down from my earlier experience, and I said, “I told her to come hang out here, actually.”  The statement seemed silly considering she already did, so I amended it.  “I mean, to come hang out with me and Sam and Abigail sometime.”  I left out the part where I told her to come see me specifically.  “Sam seems to be good friends with her, so I figured she’d make a good addition to the group.”

Her eyes were practically sparkling, and I was beginning to fear I had broken open the dam of my mother’s matchmaking desires.  But she simply grinned and said, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Sebby.”  Standing then, she put her cup in the sink and bid me goodnight.

“Night Mom.”

I watched her walk into her room and close the door, still seated.  After I heard the lights click off, I rose and made my way to my own room.  The stale basement air greeted me like an old friend, and I relaxed under its influence.  I thought about coding, but decided against it.  Instead, I opened my Solorion Chronicles box and took out the resources for our next campaign.  I’d need to write in a new character if she was going to join us.  Wondering if she had any table top role playing experience, I decided to err on the side of no. 

The time passed quickly as I worked, or at least that’s what my clock implied when I glanced at the numbers reading “2:00”.

“Shit.”  I had to be up for that conference chat tomorrow.  It would be hard to wake up by then, and lack of sleep wouldn’t help.  Not bothering to replace the game supplies, I threw on my pajamas and crawled into bed.  I was proud of the work I had accomplished, though I might have gone overboard.  I had set up three beginning class characters to choose from, and was genuinely curious what she’d pick. 

As I drifted off, my dreams moved into imaginings of a table surrounded by friends, and I smiled.

\--<>\--

It had been about a week since Emmaline was released from the clinic and Maru had been home.  She had been livid, nearly shouting the story to Mom and Demetrius at the table.

_“It was the smuggler.”  Maru said.  “She convinced Emmaline to eat a new dish, saying it would fight fatigue.”  Her face went dark with anger.  “If I ever see that fraud again I’ll cook up her pig for breakfast.”_

The story seemed farfetched, but I figured it was less likely than the farmer trying to OD on mushrooms.  Of course, no one outside of the family and Harvey knew that she had overdosed, and as far as I was concerned, it was going to stay that way.  Accident or not, it’s not the kind of thing I’d want getting out about me, and I figured Emmaline was the same.

I sat at my computer, eyes bleary from being up so early in the morning.  Mom had just laughed when I complained at breakfast.  So what if she got up at six?  Eight was still way too early for me, and I wasn’t going to be embarrassed about it.  But I had to be up, the client insisted on morning meetings with the team.

A knock at my door surprised me. No one was home, and as far as I knew we weren’t expecting company.

“Sebastian?”  A hesitant voice called from behind the door.  “Maru said you were home, is it okay if I come in?”

_Ah shit, it’s Emmaline!  Why now!?_ The chat continued steadily without me, and I decided to chance it.

“Come on in!”

She opened the door and walked up to my desk.  In perfect ironic synchronicity, the client submitted a question about my section of the project.  I glanced up, hoping my look was apologetic.

“Oh, hey.  Gimme one sec.”  I typed the answer as fast as I could, and gratefully, the client concluded the discussion.  I turned my focus back on Emmaline.

“Okay.  Sorry about that, I just needed to finish what I was working on.”

I nervously moved to minimize my work windows as she made her way around my desk.  She looked over my shoulder.  “What are you working on?” she asked.

“Ah.  I do freelance work as a programmer.”  A notification popped up, accompanied by its shrill beep.  I frowned.  “That was an instant message from Sam…  I guess he wants to hang out…”  I rubbed my eyes.  “Ugh, I don’t really feel like going out today though.” 

Mom let herself into my room without knocking as I finished my sentence.  _Could this get any more awkward?_ “Oh, hi Emmaline.” Mom grinned and walked up to my desk.

“Sebby, I know you don’t like it when I come in here… but I ran into Abigail at the store and she said she was looking for you.”

I sighed under my breath.  “Did you tell her I’m working?”

“I did… but she said she’d probably stop by anyway.”

My sigh was audible this time.  “No one takes my job seriously.”  The issue was a consistent one, and I could feel my anger rising as the irritated spot was poked once more.  “No one ever bothers Maru when she’s working at the clinic… does everyone think I’m just surfing the web all day?” 

Mom put her hands up in defense.  “Just passing along the info, Sebby.”  She turned and left, an awkward silence filling the room as she did.

After a moment, Emmaline broke it.  “So… a programmer, huh?  Are you happy doing freelance?”

I was still angry, and the secret I had been holding in flowed out with the emotion.  “Well, I’m trying to save up so I can move out of here.  Probably to the city or something.”  I envisioned the office in Zuzu, small, according to Roshan, but doing well.  A place I could actually see myself enjoying.  “You know, if I’d gone to college I’d probably be making six figures right now…”  Thinking of the job I’d have in the process though made me grimace.  “But I just don’t want to be part of that corporate rate race, you know?”

Looking up, I was surprised to see she was paying close attention.  It made me self-conscious.  “Well, and I guess I just feel more comfortable hidden behind the computer than dealing with people face-to-face.”  I half smiled at her.  Her nearness and focus on me made me want to hide, but there was nowhere to do so, so I looked back at my screen and pulled up my coding work.

“Well, I should get back to work… I need to get this module finished by tomorrow.”

Emmaline nodded, and started out of my room.  She paused though, at the door.  “I know you’re busy, but one thing?” 

“Sure.”  I felt more comfortable behind my screen.

“Thank you for what you did when I was in the clinic.  …And for not sharing what you saw.”  She smiled, almost sadly, at me.  “I just wanted to tell you that.”

The raw honesty I felt from that short statement dumbfounded me.  “Um, you’re welcome.”  Falling back on politeness may not have been the smoothest move, but I was glad to have it.  She turned around to head up the stairs, but I called out.

“Emmaline?”  She turned to look back at me. “Come visit again, okay?”

A happier smile this time.  “Sure.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter!
> 
> Guess who just got her romance batteries recharged? This author. *points to self with thumbs* Went and saw the new Beauty and the Beast, and it was amazing. Definitely worth the tickets, if you are on the fence. Also the soundtrack is amazing too, but I'm a biased fan of Alan Menken, so...
> 
> I felt like Sebastian was getting left out, so this chapter is from his point of view. It took a bit to figure out who I wanted to proceed with, there's so much story and I didn't want to break it into multiple POV's. (It just seems tacky.) But I trust my readers will call me on it if I don't do a good enough job explaining through my next chapters. (Hint hint- I love constructive criticism.) 
> 
> Let me know if Seb seems like Seb too, I really struggled to stay in his head this chapter.
> 
> I also feel a bit sorry for the smuggler. She didn't do anything wrong! But what's Emmaline going to say when people think she tried to get way too high off of forest veggies? A wizard tricked her into drinking a foul smelling magic potion? Yeah right.
> 
> Again, thank you all so much for your reading-patronage! You guys/gals/pals are the awesomest!
> 
> MaraDin


	16. Chapter 15: Caretaker

Chapter 15: Caretaker

by MaraDin

 

I stared.

It stared back.

Leaning against the rough bark of the huge oak tree, I watched the community center with a critical eye.  The shade was relaxing, a small respite from the overbearing heat that baked Pelican Town.  It hadn’t rained in three weeks and tiny dust devils were sprouting like weeds from the soil sitting vacant in my field. 

The flower box on the window seemed too cheery for the rundown building, like it was trying too hard to hide the fact that the place was a wreck.  Glaring, I spat, “I know what you are.”

“What am I?”

I sighed, the familiar voice both welcome and unwelcome.  “Nothing Sam.”  He had put his hand out to help me up, and I fought the urge to sigh again.  “You know, you don’t have to walk me home.  I’m doing fine.”

He was pouting.  “I am not nothing,” he rebutted to the air, ignoring my rejection of his assistance. “And I do too, Doc Harvey said I had to keep an eye on you.”  I relented and let him hoist me up, but he noticed the dark mood I was nursing.  Harvey’s no-work ruling left me idle in the best growing weeks of the season, and I was losing my calm and cheerful façade.

“Hey, you know we just want you to be okay, right?”

“I know.”  I glanced down as he threaded his fingers through mine.  This seemed to be a thing with us now, but I wasn’t worried about it.  It had started when he walked me home from the clinic. “You fell down on me before, so just in case,” he had explained.  His casual smile had poorly hidden the worry in his eyes, and if the simple gesture made him feel better, who was I to argue. 

But this near constant accompaniment was getting to be too much, even for a well-meaning friend.  My “illness” had been bad, but I wasn’t going to fall apart at any moment.  _And I know who to avoid so nothing like it ever happens again…_

The thought brought me back to why I had come here.  “Hey Sam?”

“Hmm?”  He didn’t look at me as we strolled along, but I felt him squeeze my hand to show he was listening.

“Why is the community center like it is?  Lewis said my grandfather helped build it, so it’s not _that_ old.  Why did people stop using it?”

He thought for a moment before answering.  “I don’t really know.  Mom said it used to be a really popular place when she was growing up here.  I guess with Pierre’s store having so much room, they just didn’t bother using it?”

I considered his answer.  “I guess it would have been more upkeep than the store.  But to let it go like that…”

Sam barked a short laugh.  “Emma, the whole town’s kind of been ‘let go’.  There’s no money.”

He had a point.  The rest of the town showed the signs of a community fraying apart at the edges.  The broken-down bus, the bridge that had fallen out on the path to the old quarry, even the rusty old minecarts that had once bustled with the town’s founding ore trade.  The community center was but the prime example of a town on its last legs.  The image of the desolate building stuck like graffiti on the walls of my mind.

I didn’t remember much of what happened after I drank the wizard’s concoction.  Despite my best effort to recall events, there was only Sam appearing out of nowhere in the woods, and then the cold floor of a hospital room.  But echoing in my head was a tinkling voice saying, “Come to us.”  The crazy potion-induced trip had done something to my brain, and it wasn’t going away.  When I was alone, they were in my head.  Chimelike voices right on the edge of hearing.  They were loudest around the community center, and despite my fears that I was giving myself over to the insanity, it’s where I had been spending a large part of my time.

“Emmaline?”  My name jerked me out of my musings, and I looked up at Sam’s worried expression.  I realized that he had asked a question, and I had failed to give a response.

“What?  I’m sorry, I zoned out.”

“Obviously.  I was asking if you wanted me to bring up some leftovers from the house for dinner.”

I thought of my overflowing miniature refrigerator.  “Thanks, but I have more casseroles than I could hope to eat right now.”  Almost each family in town had sent enough to feed five, and I was secretly trying to hand them off to Linus whenever I got the chance. 

“I could help you eat them?”  Sam hedged.

I laughed.  “I’m sure you could, but I know your mom wants you home for dinner.”

His shoulders sagged and his head dropped to his chest, like a puppy denied a treat.  I reached up with my free hand to pat his head softly.  “There there, you’ll have plenty to eat at home.”

“Hey!” he complained, running his fingers through his hair to push it back into form.  Despite the amount of product that had to be in it, his hair still felt soft to the touch.  I couldn’t figure out how he managed it, but wasn’t about to ask.  I was sure I’d be subjected to a makeover kidnapping, and I didn’t have the social energy for it tonight.

“We’re here,” I observed.  We had stopped in front of my small cottage, our leisurely pace ensuring the maximum amount of time before I had to be alone with the strange voices again. 

“You sure you don’t need help finishing up that food?” Sam asked expectantly. 

‘I think I can manage.”  He walked me up the steps to the porch anyway, and pushed open my door.  I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not an invalid, you know.”

“Well I’m a gentleman.” He retorted in a forced Castle Village accent, flaunting a haughty look.

I laughed.  It was an easy thing to do around Sam.  He gave my hand one more squeeze before letting it go.  “You call if you need _anything_ , Emma.  Promise?”

His sincerity was undeniable.  “Of course Sam, I promise.”

I waved as he strode off the farm back to town.  The sun was still bright, and wouldn’t set for a few more hours, so I decided to do one of the few farm chores still allowed me.  When Robin had showed me how to tap trees, I don’t think she realized how desperately I would fixate on the new income source.  Nearly every tree I had left on my property was tapped, or in the process of getting a setup of its own.  I checked the buckets hanging under the spiles, changing out those which were full.  A set of jars waited inside to be filled, for after I had processed the sap.  It was the only downside to this work, having to boil the sap into product in the middle of summer.  Still, it was the easiest money I had found, and it didn’t hurt having fresh maple syrup for breakfasts.

My arms full of small buckets, I trudged to the smelters I had modified.  Adding the new sap to each pot, I loaded up the ovens with coal, and quickly stepped back as the fire burst to life in front of me.

A small squeak from behind the furnace caught my attention.  Sparks of green light glanced off the metal as a blur shot to my left.  I reacted before my mind had fully processed what I was seeing.  It was one of _them._   Racing after it, the creature didn’t seem to realize I was in pursuit.  It stopped abruptly, and I dived, wrapping my arms tightly around it and pulling it close to my chest.

The sharp stream of tinkling words poured out as gibberish as I wrestled the thing into submission.  Once I had a good grip with both hands, I held it at arm’s length.

“What _are_ you?!” I demanded.

Terror shone in the tiny eyes of the glowing being, but I wasn’t going to be swayed by sympathy.  “I’m not letting go until I get answers!”

It struggled in my grasp, but it seemed smaller than the one I had seen in the Wizard’s tower, or the one in the community center. 

“Hey!”  It stopped, and looked at me.  “Tell me.  I need answers.”  My voice had an edge of begging to it that I didn’t like.  I couldn’t seem desperate, I had to be intimidating!

The creature trembled, but answered in a high-pitched, almost musical, voice.  “I am Junimo.  You are Caretaker of the Valley.”

“I am what?”

“Please put down?”  It asked.

“You’ll run away.  Disappear.” I denied its request.

“Caretaker must go to the home!” It cried.  “We try to tell you!  You not come!”

“The home?  What home?  My cottage?”  I wasn’t getting anywhere with this thing, and despite my best efforts, I was starting to feel guilty about holding it captive.  It was dawning on me that this might be a young… Junimo.  That was it. 

“No!  My home!  You sit outside and watch!  I follow you today!”

The community center.  That must be what it was talking about.  I _had_ been spending a lot of time there recently, starting at it.  I hadn’t gone back in.

“Please, please Caretaker.  Down?”  A single sparkle fell from near its eyes.  _Was it crying?_

“I’m going to put you down now.  But you promise I’ll get answers if I go back to the community center?  I won’t be hurt?”

The Junimo flashed as it spoke. “Yes!  Yes!”

“Okay then.”  I put it down on the ground in front of me.  Surprisingly, it didn’t immediately run away.

“Caretaker of the Valley is friend,” said the Junimo.  “We friend of Caretaker.”  It turned, and hopped away into nothingness.

A growing, stinging pain was buzzing at the edge of my consciousness.  I stared at my arms, covered in scrapes with gravel embedded in some of them.  Either what I just witnessed was real, or I was going to be shipped off to the asylum in Zuzu very soon.  I considered calling Maru, knowing it would be hell to try to get this dirt out without help, but I knew she’d see through the excuse I made for my injury.

“Sam.”  I hated to use him like this, but I needed help, and he wouldn’t question a story about me tripping.

I pulled out my phone from the pocket of my overalls, thanking Yoba it didn’t break in the dive. 

“Hey.  That offer to come eat some casserole still good?”

\--<>\--

“What the hell did you do?!”  Even though he wouldn’t ask questions, Sam was still very unhappy with the sight of me when he arrived.  He had burst in my front door armed with a fork, which promptly fell to the floor when he saw me trying to pick gravel out of my arm with a tweezer by the light of my cell phone.  It sucks not having installed lighting. 

“Tripped over a tree root.” I lied smoothly.  I had practiced several times before he arrived.  “Took the brunt of the fall on my forearms.  It’s just scraped, I only need to get it clean and wrap it up.”

“Just scraped.” He repeated incredulously.  “You look like hamburger.”  That was an overstatement, it was not nearly so bad.

“Are you going to help me or what?” I asked.

“…Yes.” He grumbled, taking the seat opposite me.  “I understand why you told me to bring my desk lamp now.  Pulling it out of his backpack, he plugged it in to the outlet beside the table. 

“Sorry, haven’t been able to buy one yet.”  The extra light made all the difference.  “Could you get that pot of water from by the fireplace?  It’s been boiled, so it should be sterile.”  I had Robin build a well first thing after I realized I had no running water.  It had a filtration system built in for drinking water, but I figured I should be extra careful.  The last thing I needed was more hospital bills for infection treatment. 

Sam grabbed the now cool water and brought it to the table.  “You keep the lamp.” He said, finality in his voice. This wasn’t the time to fight about it now, so I stayed silent. 

“Washcloths are in the hope chest next to the bed.” He retrieved them as well.

“You should let me call Maru.  She wouldn’t have a problem making a house call.  I’m sure she wouldn’t even charge you.”

“No!” I said a little too quickly.  Sam eyed me curiously.  “I put her through so much work already with the whole food thing before, I don’t want to make her busy again for some scrapes.”

I don’t know if he believed me, but he didn’t push it.  “Give me your arms, and those tweezers.  You’re digging more than actually getting stuff out.”

Relinquishing my small metal tweezers, I turned my arms so they faced the light.  I winced as he began removing pieces of lodged dirt, but Sam worked quickly and was done soon enough. 

“Okay, now let’s wash them off.”  He spoke soothingly, and it dawned on me that he probably had taken care of a number of Vincent’s scrapes and falls.

“You do this for your brother, don’t you?”

Sam looked up, surprised.  “How?”

“You’re so careful, and practiced.  This obviously isn’t the first time.”

Sam had already gotten back to work, but he smiled.  “He’s my little brother.  Mom would get upset, so I clean him up, and it’s our little secret.”

He seemed more relaxed once the blood was cleaned off.  “I guess it isn’t so bad.”

“Told you so.”

“You still should have called Maru.”  He paused.  “But I’m glad you called me.”

Sam wrapped my arms with the roll of gauze I had pulled from my first aid kit.  Maru’s gift of “necessary” medical equipment was a bit beyond the normal range of bandages and some antibiotic cream.  Then again, I guess farming did come with some not so average injury opportunities.  _And now I’ve got supernatural ones to deal with as well._

I lightly flexed my arms.  “See?  Good as new!”

Unfortunately, I had flinched as I said it, and Sam caught my reaction.  “Uh huh.  And you wonder why I’m walking you everywhere?  I leave you for an hour and this is what I come back to.”

His good-natured teasing was a welcome distraction from the irritating sting of the antiseptic under the wrap.  He stood, and made his way to the fridge.  “Did you eat yet?”

“No.”

“Then I’m glad I brought my fork.”

“I have more than one, so you know.” I could deal with teasing, but I wasn’t a bad host.  “You didn’t have to bring your own.”

“This coming from the lady with no lamps.”

“They’re expensive, thank you!”

“Not that expensive,” he mumbled.  He looked around quickly.  “No microwave?”  He stared at me.  “Do you live in the dark ages or something?”

“Pretty much,” I conceded.  “You pull out a serving, and throw it in the cast iron pan.” He followed my directions.  “Okay, now push the arm it’s hanging on so it sits over the fire.  Wait! Wait!”  I tossed an oven mitt at him.  “It’s hot.”

He slid it on, and pushed the pot over the flames.  “Now what?”

“Now we wait.”

Sam took a seat across from me at the table.  “I’m going to get this house a microwave.”

“What?  No.” I shook my head vigorously at him. “I’ll buy one when I can.”

He ignored me.  “It will be my microwave, and I’m keeping it here.  I’ve got my Joja employee discount, I’ll get the cheapest model.  That way I can actually eat like a reasonable person when I come over.”

“Sam…”  Mind racing, I tried to think of what to say to discourage him from this insane idea.  “I’ll pick one up myself.  I’m doing perfectly fine with my house just as it is.”

He looked at me then.  “And if I wasn’t here tonight, how were you going to wash that big pan I’m cooking stuff in right now?”

I stared at him, confused.  “…In the washtub?” I hazarded.

“With arms that I just bandaged elbow to wrist because of open cuts?  I doubt you want an infection any more than I want you to have one.”  His eyes held a darker intensity than they usually did, and it made a shiver climb up my spine.  “And I assume you’d go draw the water, just like you did for this,” he motioned at the pot containing the boiled water, “and carry it up to the house?”

Beginning to feel sheepish, I nodded.

“I can’t get you plumbing, but I can do this.  Please let me.”  He reached across the table to take my hand, blue eyes beseeching.  “Please.”

His voice held a tight note of desperation, and I sighed, my resolve crumbling in the face of it.  “Alright.  Fine.  But it’s just a loan.  I’m paying you back, with interest.”

It felt odd, having someone care about my well-being like Sam did.  But I could tell this was who he was, a defining characteristic.  He saw a need, and he did everything in his power to fix it.  Inherent Sam-ness.  I didn’t deserve this kind of benevolence.

Sam nodded, and stood.  “Okay, now that that’s settled, where’s the plates?”

We ate, and Sam told me about times he had helped Vincent hide injuries from their mother.  His exuberant style of storytelling had me laughing, his hand motions spraying water everywhere as he scrubbed the cooking pot after our meal.  But as much fun as it was, it made the evening pass far too quickly.  Once again, he stood outside my door, bidding me goodbye.

“I’ll be here tomorrow morning, and we’ll go pick out your new appliance.”

“Not too early.” I cautioned.  “I may be upset about not being allowed to work, but I do like being able to sleep in.”

He chuckled.  “You and Bas both.  Fine, I’ll be here later in the morning, sleepyhead.”  He poked my forehead gently.  “Goodnight Emma.”

“Goodnight Sam.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I present to you the next chapter! The next few are likely going to be from Emmaline's point of view as we dive into the mystical nature of the community center. What awaits our heroine inside? Will the wizard again show up to poison her? (No, thank Yoba.) What does all this have to do with her grandfather, with her? Will she face these challenges alone?!? Stay tuned! ;)
> 
> Also, I'm trying to write natural sounding dialogue between Emmaline and Sam, so please let me know if it's working! This chapter has been revised... way too many times. 
> 
> You all are angels, my awesome readers,  
> MaraDin
> 
> EDIT: Wanted to share a bit of headcanon with you all, but I completely forgot when I submitted the chapter. I have an artist who's voice I "hear" when Sam sings, who is ironically also named Sam?  
> Check him out! (He's fucking amazing.) Sam Tsui's latest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPgxy-qwQ9Y


	17. Chapter 16:  Roast Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Brief mentions of warfare

Chapter 16: Roast Me

by MaraDin

 

Nervousness made the scabs on my arms itch, but I refused the impulse to pick at them.  It was over a week since my conversation with the baby Junimo, but I still hesitated before the looming oak door of the community center.  The summer heat had yet to bake the dew off the grass, and the silence of the sleeping town lent an extra edge of eeriness to the whole situation.  Pushing through my discomfort, I grabbed the handle of the door and twisted.

Instead of the squealing rust-bound hinges fighting my progress as they had before, the door swung open silently, swirling the dust clouds ahead of it.  I entered quickly, not giving myself time to think about the oddity.  Retracing my steps to the room I had stumbled upon before, I braced myself for the sight of a Junimo standing guard over the tablet imbedded in the floor.  There was nothing.  I turned away from the room, looking around me.  Unlike the first trip, summer sunshine flowed in from every window, illuminating the old building, and glistening in the many spider web chandeliers that hung in the corners. 

The hallway ended in what I assumed to be a dilapidated kitchen, a moldy smell coming from the barrel nearest me.  I turned back, feeling more confident now that it appeared I was alone.  A short inspection of the building confirmed my suspicions; the place was a wreck. Shattered glass in the central room crunched as I walked past the remains of a huge fish tank, and the safe in what must have been the Mayor’s office looked less secure than my henhouse.  Soot still lined the baseboards of the boiler room, and mushrooms poked up through the dirt where the floorboards had worn away.

It was on my way back up the stairs that I saw it.  Its frame was crooked on the wall, and the photograph was faded, but I recognized the long beard of a person who watched over me as I slept every night.

“Grandfather…”

I reached out, lifting the picture from the peeling wallpaper.  The dust I brushed off the glass made my eyes water, but I could make out Lewis standing next to my grandfather.  As I stared, I recognized more of the people in the photograph.  A strong, healthy looking George was standing next to a younger Evelyn, his hand resting on the shoulder of a teenage girl sporting pigtails.  A young man already growing a pot belly had to be Gus, his beaming smile showing pride as the group stood in front of a new sign that read _The Stardrop Saloon: Food & Spirits_.  Waves of nostalgia for a memory I didn’t have washed over me.

“Caretaker?”

The sudden musical voice made me drop the photograph.  My hands scrambled down after it, barely catching it before it hit the wooden planks.  On the floor was a Junimo, reflecting a blue that was somehow somber, despite its luminescence.

“Time,” was all the Junimo said, and began to hop silently down the hallway back to the main room.

I followed, confused by its statement, and was awed as I saw a sea of different colored lights flooding the room.  The Junimos flickered like jewels set before a candle.  Their voices chimed, just as they had in my head, a soft mumbling of bells that threatened to overwhelm my thoughts.  What seemed like hundreds of eyes peered into my own, and I swallowed, trying to clear the nervousness out of my throat. 

“Hi.” I croaked.

Their chattering ceased, and they parted to allow the blue Junimo through.  It approached the fireplace, and turned towards me, expectantly.  I edged through the assembled Junimos, stopping in front of my mystical guide.

It spoke again.  “It is time for you to know your duty, Caretaker.”  It may have expected a response, but I didn’t give one.  “But first, you should know your history,” it continued.  Its eyes dropped to the picture I was still holding.  “Your ancestor, the one in the box you hold, he was Caretaker.”

The revelation did little to surprise me, I had figured as much with my own investigation.  “Why?” I questioned.

“The Valley spoke to him, just as it does to you.”

I pondered this.  “He could see you too?”

“Yes, but that is not the voice of the Valley.  We Junimos are of the Valley, but we are not the Valley.”  The small creature seemed to be struggling to explain.  “You are of your family, but you are not your family,” it attempted.

I thought about the comparison.  “The Valley made you?  Gave you life?” I hazarded.

Blue sparks sizzled at the end of its antenna. “ _Yes._   The Valley gives us life.”  Vast relief showed on its face.  “And Caretaker guides the Valley.  You give life to Valley.  Junimos help you.”

“Like you helped Grandfather.”

It glowed fiercely again.  “Yes.  You listen to Valley, and help it live.”

Beginning to grasp what the Junimo was telling me, I responded, “So, I have to help ‘the Valley’ to live.  Grandfather also helped it.  He brought life to it.”  The image of my grandfather, tall crops growing strong behind him came to me, and then memories of the small sprouts that I myself tended.  “He was literally growing Stardew Valley,” I realized out loud.  “My work on the farm, I’ve cleaned up the land, I’ve made it grow crops again.  Farming, that’s how I’ve given it life.”  Not very well, but even I had to admit the land looked different after months of my influence.  Even the forest seemed healthier, more fruit grew on bushes as I cut back invasive weeds, and twice as many fish seemed to be in the ponds for every piece of trash I drew out of them.  Suddenly, the strange growing dedication I felt to this place, to this new way of life, had a reason.  I was being pulled down this path by something far beyond myself.

“I feel it,” I whispered.  “Something has been calling to me this whole time.”  Things that had been frightening before were now like a warm blanket of reassurance.  The hard-edged glow of the Junimos, once like gemstones, shone like the spring light cascading through petals of newly formed leaves and cherry blossoms, or the pastel blue of a cloudless sky.  It’s like the cage of fear that had encased me since my first visit to this place had shattered, and I was _finally_ feeling what was going on around me.

“You must answer that voice.  The voice of the Valley.  We will help you.”  I looked into the Junimos eyes.

“What do I have to do?”

\--<>\--

“Sam!  Sam!  Look!”

The waves didn’t drown out the bright laughter that came from close to the surf.  My hope for some lonesome fishing while contemplating what I had learned didn’t seem likely now.

“Hey Emmaline.” Sam called out to me. “Nice day, isn’t it?”  It _was_ shaping up to be one of the better days we’d had this summer; a breeze blew in from the Gem Sea, bringing with it a much-needed respite from the heat.  “I’m just keeping an eye on Vincent.  It’s good for him to get some fresh ocean air on a day like this,” he said as I came to stand next to him.  We watched Vincent attempt to put turrets on his sand castle.  The wind gusted gently, strengthening the smell of brine and Willy’s fishing nets hanging on the docks.  Sam breathed in deep with it.  “Our Dad used to take us to the beach on sunny days like this.”

The mention of their father made Vincent look at us.  He pushed himself up off the sand, and I could see the conflict in his eyes as he approached.  “Sam..?  Is Dad ever going to come home?”

Sam sighed, but squatted down to his little brother’s level.  “Of course, Vince.  Dad’s going to come back as soon as he possibly can.”

“But I heard some grown-ups saying that… that all of our troops are getting shot to pieces.” 

I felt Sam freeze beside me in shock, but he quickly admonished, “Don’t believe everything you hear!”  Vincent shrunk back at the outburst, and Sam lowered his voice.  “Don’t you remember how strong Dad is?  He’d never let a pathetic Gotoro grunt get him like that!  Don’t you worry!”  My friend smiled, “And always remember that Mom and I are here to play with you if you ever feel lonely.”  Sam’s smile was soon reflected on Vincent’s face.

“Okay!” The child beamed, then ran back to his toys at the water’s edge.

My eyes met Sam’s as he turned towards me, and I watched the smile fade quickly.  Sam looked back at Vincent playing, and then said in a low voice, “To be honest, I have no idea if my old man will come back… We’ve all read the reports.  Our soldiers are falling by the thousands.  But what am I going to say to Vincent?”  His hand curled into a fist.

It hurt, seeing him like this.  “You did the right thing.  Kids should have hope.”  I knew from my own experience what it was to grow up having that ripped away.  It couldn’t be easy, shielding Vincent from it, but it was right, and I knew it was what Sam would keep choosing to do.  I took his fist in my hand, trying to offer the small gift of comfort that I had.  He threaded his fingers through mine, as I had hoped he would. 

“Yeah… kids should play and have fun while they still have the chance.”  He turned me towards him, our connected hands a hinge between us.  I saw him fight to put the brooding thoughts away, and considered telling him he didn’t have to put on a happy façade for me.  But my façade was my defense, and I wasn’t going to take it away from him if it helped.

“Hey, did I tell you the band’s starting to come together?”  I shook my head no.  “Yeah!  It turns out Abigail’s a pretty good drummer.  And Sebastian seemed to really want her in the band…”  He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh really?” I smirked, his expression driving away my lingering anxieties.

“He perked up when I told him she had responded to my posting on the community board and by the time she was done auditioning, he had this huge grin on his face!”

We laughed, and the easy comradery I had come to expect with Sam settled over us.  For a while, we just watched Vincent play, building a moat around his newly formed castle to protect it from the oncoming tide.

Sam squeezed my hand, and spoke, “So, Emma.  You coming to the Luau tomorrow?”

“Luau?”

“Yeah, every year this big shot from the county comes to judge Pelican Town. We have a big party in his honor, and there’s a huge pot of soup.” He looked annoyed.

“Is this big shot a jackass or something?”  I inquired.

“Pretty much.  He’s always saying the soup isn’t good enough, and Mayor Lewis freaks out, then says it’s my fault.”  Sam kicked the sand.  “I haven’t even put anything in the soup for years!  One time!  I was a kid!”

I looked at him confused, but he didn’t elaborate and instead asked, “So, you going?”

“Sure, I guess.  Free food doesn’t sound too bad, even if it is mediocre soup.”

“Oh, there’s other stuff too!  And if you’re lucky, Linus might give you a piece of his spit-roast…”  I held back the snigger as he unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation.  If Sam could be distracted by anything, it was the promise of food.

“Then definitely,” I assured him.

“Awww!”

The despairing cry had us both turning to Vincent.  The sea had won the battle, and his castle was falling to the might of the waves overflowing his moat.  Sam snuck a glance at his phone.

“Man, it’s later than I thought.  We were supposed to be home for lunch like half an hour ago!”  Sam’s fingers carded through his hair as he glanced at me sheepishly.  “I think I need to go, Emma.”

“I bet you do.”  I moved to unlink my hand from his, and felt a little guilty when he held on to mine a little longer.  I guess he still wasn’t quite as okay as he seemed. 

“Sam?”  He gazed down at me.  “I’ll be looking for my guide to luau food tomorrow, so don’t be late!”

His expression brightened.  “Wouldn’t dream of making you wait.”  He stepped away from me, and called out to his brother, “Come on, Vince!  If we’re any later Mom’s going to make _me_ into sandwiches!”

I waved as the two left the beach, Sam trying to brush the wet sand off Vincent and failing spectacularly.  Turning back to the surf, I sighed.  _Why couldn’t life just be easy, for anyone?  Yoba, if anyone deserves the good things, it’s him.  It has to be him._

\--<>\--

The beach had been transformed overnight.  Music boomed from speakers located in front of a palm branch dance floor, and tacky-looking tiki poles had been erected haphazardly as decoration. But the main attraction was the food, or more notably, the roiling bathtub of stew that sat nestled between other tables full of Pelican Town’s best Fern Islands inspired cuisine.  I was surprised to not see Willy partaking, since he had claimed to have lived there. 

I edged my way around Elliott’s house, nearly bumping into the man as he lounged against it.  “Oh, hey farmer.  I woke up late, stepped out of the door and found myself in the middle of all this hubbub!”  Leah stood beside him, and smiled at me as I waved to them both.  My attention was yanked in the direction of the water as a mouthwatering aroma blew in with the breeze.  Just as Sam had predicted, Linus stood stoically next to a carefully contained fire, a whole young pig spinning lazily above it on a spit.  I couldn’t imagine how he had procured the funds to buy it, but the man was going to eat like a king tonight.  Spotting Maru watching the slowly revolving piece of pork, I followed my growling stomach to her side.

“That looks delicious,” I said.

“You have no idea,” the young woman replied.  I could nearly hear her salivating.  “I got some last year, and dear Yoba it was the best damn thing in this festival.”  Maru’s had yet to look away from the roast.

Linus heard us, and called out as he recognized me through the oily smoke.  “Miss Emmaline!  Come, come!”  I left my friend to join the older man, more than a little concerned as I watched the flames leap towards his makeshift robe of nature scraps.  As I approached, he motioned grandly to the pig.  “Look at her.  I’ve been spinning this for the last six hours, and have nearly reached perfection.  A slow, continuous rotation is key to achieving the perfect roast.”  I nodded appreciatively.  “You’ll try some, I hope?  After all,” he dropped his voice to a whisper, “You _did_ give me a small army’s worth of casseroles over the last month.”

“I would be an idiot to turn down something that smells this good, my friend.”

Our conversation was interrupted by a loud hoot behind us.  Penny and Sam stood some yards away, and the teacher was doubled over with laughter, an engaging grin on Sam’s face.  I watched as he continued whatever hilarious story had Penny nearly in tears, brushing aside an odd tugging of jealousy at the sight.  I had of course looked for him when I first got to the beach, but figured he hadn’t yet arrived when I didn’t see him waiting.  _Don’t be stupid, Emmaline.  He has other friends than you.  You’re getting too dependent on his company._

I felt Linus watching me watch Sam, and plastered a grin on my face, like I was also enjoying the story I couldn’t hear.  From the way he looked at me, he didn’t buy it.  “I’ll come back for a taste in a bit, Linus, I’ve uh… got to say hi to…” I glanced at the other partygoers, “Robin and Demetrius.”

Extraditing myself quickly from Linus’ field of view, I paralleled the surf on my way towards the dance floor.  My face was burning with shame at being caught in my thoughts, and I kept my head down as I walked.  Finally, I reached the docks, considering finding refuge away from the beach, but as I glanced up, Abigail’s hard stare caught me, and I veered to another direction.  One of the tacky tiki poles became my shelter, and I slid down it into the sand.

I looked up as a thump on the pole’s connecting side shook me.  I wish I hadn’t.  Sebastian stood with his hands in his pockets of the same black hoodie he always wore.  I dropped my face back down, but he spoke anyway.  “One year Sam put a pound of anchovies in the potluck soup.”  I couldn’t help but grin at that, knowing now what Sam was talking about yesterday.  Sebastian slid down the pole as I had, and glanced briefly at me before continuing.  “Ever wonder why he leads the town in community service hours?”

I had noticed Sam did a lot of litter patrol, but I figured it was a volunteer activity.  “Mayor Lewis is _still_ holding it over him?” I guessed.

“Well, that and a few other incidents.”  Sebastian chuckled lightly at what I assumed were memories of Sam getting in trouble.  “Anyway, I say that to tell you my best friend is a well-meaning dumbass, but still a dumbass.  He told me he was going to be hanging out with you when you got here, and to be nice when he brought you over, but…”  He took one hand out of his pocket and gestured vaguely.  “Dumbass.”

The whole experience cumulated in a strange emotion overload, and I found myself snorting out a muffled laugh.  I pulled myself together, and responded.  “You know, I’m not sure your best friend would appreciate being called a dumbass, even if it’s true.”

“Well then he shouldn’t act like a dumbass.”  Sebastian stood, and after brushing the sand off his jeans, put his hand out to help me up.  He looked away as I took it, hoisting myself away from the tiki pole with his help.  “You eat yet?” he asked once I had cleaned my own pants of sand.

“No, but I bet I can get you a piece of Linus’ pork roast over there.”

“I might just take you up on that.”  I glanced at him, and for the first time, Sebastian didn’t immediately look away or hide behind his hair.  I smiled to myself, proud that I had maybe managed to make more friends than I thought.

We made small talk as we walked the edge of the beach, mostly about his mom and her work on the farm.  “I’ve honestly always been impressed by the dedication she has to the job, but, and don’t take this the wrong way, she can get kind of obsessed.”  I said as we neared Linus’ spit.

“Yeah, that sounds about right.  You should see her on old videotapes of my failed attempts at sports.”  He suddenly blanched.  “Oh shit. Nevermind!  I did _not_ say that.  I take it back.”

I laughed.  “Now I have to ask for them.  Don’t worry, it will be under the guise of seeing Robin, of course.”  Sebastian grumbled something, and shook hair into his eyes, obscuring my view of his face.

“What?”

Before he could avoid giving me the answer, we arrived at the glistening roast pork, now keeping warm over a bed of embers.  Linus was still hovering protectively, which was probably a good thing, considering how Maru circled like the hungry seagulls.

“Hey Linus!”  Linus motioned us over, looking askance at Sebastian, obviously confused at his involvement in this transaction.  I motioned to Sebastian, asking, “Anyway, I could grab a bite for Sebastian too?  He paid well in juicy gossip.”

Linus considered the offer carefully, then shrugged.  “If you say he’s earned it, he can get a little bit.”  He brandished an outlandishly large knife, and with more deftness that I would have attributed to the naturalist, he sliced into the pig.  Soon Sebastian and I were enjoying one of the best barbeque roast-kebobs I had ever tasted, though my slice was significantly larger.

“What did you do to get that much?” Sebastian asked between bites.

“Well,” I hesitated, not knowing if I should reveal the secret of the disappearing casseroles.  I decided to chance it.  Sebastian had reached out to me today, and if I was going to make a go at this friendship, I had to do the same.  “Don’t tell Sam, or your mom, but I kind of gave Linus a bunch of the casserole meals I got after getting out of the clinic from my food poisoning.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows raised, but he said nothing.  I continued, “There was no way I could eat all of them, so…  I gave charitably?”

He tossed his now empty stick into the fire.  “No judgement here, honest.  When Mom does cook, she tends to go a bit overboard a lot of the time.  Something about having leftovers of ‘good home cooked meals’.  Maru and I end up throwing them out like two weeks later.”

“Well, thanks for the understanding.  I couldn’t very well say no, everyone worked so hard to make them.”

“You wanna grab something from the tables?” Sebastian pointed in the direction of a table loaded with various desserts.

“Going straight for the sweets again, are you Bas?”  The feminine voice startled me, and I was shocked to find Abigail coming to join us.

“Abby.” He scowled at her.  “And no, just pointing out that Emmaline might want something other than slab of meat for dinner.”

The tension in the air was palpable, at least to me.  Having Abigail so close was like standing next to an iceberg.  An iceberg that somehow also was on fire.  She was a skillful user of both the cold shoulder and glares so fiery I wilted like old lettuce in front of them.  “Uh, hi, Abigail.”

She ignored me.  “Bas, you skipped out on game night last week.  What the heck?” 

“I got busy, so what?  I have an actual job, unlike some people.”

“I work in the shop!”

“That your dad owns.  It’s not really work.  Plus, you put in what, two hours a week?”

“Guys!  Guys!  Stop fighting!”  The familiar voice directly behind me made me turn suddenly, tripping in the soft sand.  Or I would have, if Sam’s arms hadn’t immediately wrapped around me in a kind of steadying cage.  “Woah!”  He set me back straight, and I tilted my head back to glare at him.

“Why are _you_ sneaking up on people like that?  What if I hit you?” I exclaimed.

“You really think you could?” He grinned down at me.  I stepped on his toe.  “Ouch!  Hey!  Okay, point taken!”

Sebastian was poorly stifling a laugh, and Abigail rolled her eyes.  “Fine,” she said.  “She might fit in after all.”

I looked at her, and opened my mouth to ask what she meant when Sam spoke over me.  “Told you guys.  She’s got just the right kind of personality to fit in our group.  And I’ve seen her house.  She’s got nearly the same anime collection as you Bas.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“And I was right.”

“What are you all talking about?” I interjected.

“Game night,” Sebastian answered.  “We want to invite you to be a fourth player on days we do board games.”  He looked at me.  “If you’re interested, that is.”

The offer shocked me.  I was really only close to Sam, and I thought Abigail would straight out rather see me on Linus’ spit than the pig.

My internal filter had died from the astonishment, and “Are you sure?” slipped out before I could stop it.

“No,” snorted Abigail.  “But Sam won’t shut up about it.”

I looked up at him again.  “What?” he asked.  “You’re my friend, they’re my friends.  I want to hang out with everybody at once.”

When I faced Sebastian and Abigail again, they were waiting expectantly.  “Uh, sure, I guess?  If I’m welcome.  It would be nice to play some board games again.  I haven’t since moving from Zuzu.”  I looked at Sebastian.  “It was Solorian, right?  I think I saw it in your room one time.”

He seemed pleasantly surprised.  “Yeah, you’ve played before?”

“Back in high school, I’m pretty rusty.”

“You’re starting out with more knowledge than we expected, so don’t worry about it.”

“Good, well now that that’s settled, let’s get some grub!”  Sam grabbed my hand as he passed me, and nearly dragged me towards the buffet tables.  I glanced back at the other two, who shook their heads and followed.

Sam was already loading two plates when Sebastian and Abigail caught up with us.  “One of those for Emmaline?” Abigail asked.

“Huh?” Sam looked down at the plates, then at me, grabbing a paper plate of my own. “Doesn’t look like it!” He smiled, “She’s got her own plate.”

Sebastian sighed, “Abby, just give up.  We _all_ know he’s an empty pit.”

The other woman shook her head, and took her spot at the end of the line.  Turning my attention back to the table, I snatched the last piece of watermelon before Sam piled it onto the other four precariously balanced on his second plate.  “Mine,” I said possessively.

Sam narrowed his eyes, but I could see the twinkle that showed he wasn’t really upset.  “You really wanna challenge me on it Emma?”

“I don’t have to, I already won.”  I slipped around him and quickly grabbed the other food that I wanted.

Sebastian was laughing, a rare occurrence, but one I hoped I could see more often.  Even Abigail didn’t look like she wanted to skin me alive at the moment.  Making my way over to the dance floor, I settled on the edge of the leaves and balanced my plate on my thighs.  The others followed shortly, and soon we were eating and enjoying the show of Gus desperately swatting at flies that hovered over the food. 

“Well folks, it’s time once again for the potluck ceremony!” Lewis called as he began to move towards the boiling pot of brown goop.

“Ah crap!”  I dumped my unfinished food on Sam’s remaining plate, and scurried to the bushes for my rucksack.  Pulling out the carefully wrapped kale, I edged around the table, taking the least visible route to the pot.  I had barely dumped them in when Lewis turned to address the crowd again.

“I trust that you all put high-quality ingredients into the pot this year.  We don’t want the governor to regret his visit to the valley!”  The mayor’s voice took on a bit of a pleading tone at the end, and I heard Abigail and Sebastian snigger, to which Sam harrumphed in response.

“Well… Governor?  Would you do us the honor of tasting the soup?”

“Of course!  I’ve been looking forward to this all year.”  The governor stepped up to the large tub of soup, and dipped in a shiny, ceremonial looking ladle.  He took a sip, and I could almost hear the townsfolk collectively holding their breath.  Then the governor smiled.  “Ah… that’s a very pleasant soup.  The produce from this valley never disappoints!”

Lewis nearly fell in the soup rushing to get his own taste.  “Mmm… tasty.” He looked suspiciously at Sam before he continued, “You all did very well today.”  Then, addressing every attendee, he asked, “Now… who else wants some soup?!”

People began queuing up with bowls, but I sat back down next to my friend, alone now that Sebastian and Abigail had left for the dock.  He had eaten the food I put on his plate, and was laying flat on the dance floor, rubbing an inflated stomach.  The look, in comparison to his lanky build, was comical.  I poked his belly gently.  “You sure you had room for that?”

He groaned, clutching the spot where I poked him.  “Emmmaaaa.  Don’t…”

“But you ate my watermelon slice.”  I made motions as if I was going to poke him again.

“No fair!” He was weakly swatting at my hand.  “ _You_ put it on my plate.”

“Hmm, that I did.”  The warmth of the summer evening, good food, and promise of new friends had made my anxiety abate, just for this little while.  I let myself flop onto the leaves next to Sam, watching the sky slowly fade from its bright blue to the long summer sunset.  Sam found my hand that had been resting between us and held it.

“I couldn’t find you when I got here.” I said.  The sting of being ignored was hard to remember with him next to me now.  Sam just seemed to make things better, even when he was the problem.

“Sorry.  I didn’t know you were here until I heard Linus telling Maru to go ask you for a bite of his pig.  I thought you had stood me up.”

“Seriously?”  I took a moment to look at him, and when he looked back, I continued.  “I told you I would be here.  I keep my word, you know.  I’d never leave a friend hanging.”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t.” He smiled, then turned his attention back to the sky.

“Sam?” He didn’t look back, but squeezed my hand.  “Are you okay?  I mean, with what you were telling me yesterday…”

His face twisted uncomfortably, and he spoke.  “Honest?”  It was soft, more vulnerable I than I had heard from him before, his bravado gone.  “I can hold it together for Vincent, and Mom, but it’s hard.”

I squeezed his hand back.  “Remember when you said I could call you if I needed anything?  Well this friendship goes both ways.  I might not be as good at picking gravel out of arms, but I can listen, okay?  Whenever, whatever.”

He did look at me then, searching my expression.  What he was looking for I didn’t know, but upon finding it, he rolled and threw his free arm around me in a crushing hug.  I could hear his voice catch as he said, “Thank you, Emma.”

I patted the arm snaked around me, slightly awkwardly, not knowing quite what to do.  Maybe sensing my confusion, he pulled it back, covertly wiping at his eyes as he did so.  I gave an understanding smile, and kept ahold of his hand when he moved to pull it away as well.  “Everyone needs someone they can trust to listen Sam.”

“Hey!  Idiots!”  Abigail called.  We sat up.  Most of the participants had filed out after their soup servings.  “You gonna stay out here all night?”

Sam looked at me with an expression that broadcasted incoming trouble.  “Well, I mean, there’s a flo…”

“We’re on our way!” I shouted over him.  He pouted at me.

“But beach sleepover!”

“I already get eaten by mosquitos during my work in the day.  I don’t need to wake up looking like a raspberry.”

He chuckled, standing and pulling me up after him.  “Fine.  I guess I like you better as a human too.  Plus, you’re sweet enough already.”

“Oh Yoba.  I’m just trying to be supportive.  Don’t tell me I’m going to regret it.”

“Too late.  You have signed up for _so_ much teasing.”

I shoved into his arm with my shoulder, barely making him wobble.  “How are you so steady on your feet for being such a string bean?” I questioned.

“Skateboarding.  You’ve gotta have good balance if you don’t want to fall on your face.”

“Ah.”  We had reached the bridge connecting the beach to the rest of the town.

“Am I walking you home?” Sam looked down at me.  “Maybe for old time’s sake?”

“You only stopped escorting me everywhere like half a week ago.  It hasn’t been that long.”

“Yeah, well…”  His hand was messing with his hair again.  “What if I want to?”

I considered it, then grinned evilly.  “I guess you do need to walk off the massive amount of food you inhaled tonight.  But I’m not going to go slow for you.”  I took a massive step that yanked him forward. 

“Emma!” He complained, but it was accompanied by a laugh as he caught up easily with his much larger stride.  I picked up my pace. 

By the time we reached my house, we were both out of breath, and the stars had started peeking out through the thick blanket of night sky. 

“Why?  Why did you make us do that?” Sam whined.

“You…” I gasped in air.  “…are responsible.”

“And _you_ are a crazy sadist.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Oh shut it.  I’m too tired to argue.”

We trudged up the stairs to my door, and I didn’t complain when Sam pushed it open.  I started in, pulling my hand away, when Sam tightened his grip and pulled me back towards him.

“Sam?” I glanced at him, his face full of indecision.

“Just one more.” He whispered, and pulled me into another hug.  I stood there, shocked by the sudden contact.  As quickly as he had put his arms around me, he let go. 

“Night, Emma.”  Turning, he darted down the stairs, long legs carrying him away from me faster than we had walked on our way to the house.

My mind fought dueling thoughts of being dazed over the hug and angry that he had been holding back during our mock race. 

“Goodnight?” I asked the air.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter ho(e)! (Farming, get it? :P) Thank you all for being such patient readers! Maybe this makes up for the wait somewhat? There should hopefully be an increase in the speed of chapter postings, as my work lets out of the summer and I (woot woot) graduate with my degree! No more research! Ahahahahaha! 
> 
> Ahem. 
> 
> Hope ya'll like this chapter, it kicked my ass at the beginning. I am really no good at writing exposition. It feels like swimming through mud, and the result is just as messy. Just a note: I am open to tips and constructive criticism! Seriously! You see something you think would be better a different way? Let me know! I may not take the advice all the time (I mean, it is my story), but every bit helps me put out a better work of fiction for you guys!
> 
> Sam and Emma are growing closer, and Emmaline might even be making new friends! I do plan on having all the heart events, but it might not line up as accurately with "relationship level/points" as it does in the game. Author privilege, what can I say?
> 
> Also, I just found out that Sam and his family lived in the city for at least some time. If anyone remembers if wrote something along the lines of Sam always living in the Valley, could you please leave a comment? I might need to ret con some things for accuracy's sake, and to be honest I just don't have the time to go searching for it right now.
> 
> And finally, on a completely unrelated note: I am providing my Tumblr in case anyone is possessed by a vengeful ghost and needs to haunt me (or ask questions, give ideas, make comments, whatever). I do try to remember to post there when I'm updating Trustworthy too. It is a crazy dumping ground consisting of social justice (including politics and religion), cats, teacher/literary humor, and nerdy crap. So beware. Also beware, I like puns. They will likely show up. Alright, here it is, enter at your own risk: http://karawatermelon.tumblr.com/


	18. Chapter 17: Reconciliation

Chapter 17: Reconciliation

by MaraDin

 

She was avoiding me.

I paced across my room, spinning roughly on the green carpet at my turns.  The memory replayed on loop, even though I had analyzed it to death.  Why?  Why had I done that?  I knew how uncomfortable the first one had made her, I felt her tense up!  But no, stupid Sam just _had_ to have another hug.  Another brief moment of holding her close, of feeling the comfort that came from her presence.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!”  Berating myself wasn’t solving any problems though.  I had to figure out a way to get her to talk to me.  Every time I saw her she disappeared or gave me a half-mumbled response of being busy.  Last week had been the worst.  I finally got up the courage to face her, to visit to her farm, and I couldn’t get her to look at me.  Gracelessly, I let myself fall face first onto the bed.

“She looked at _anywhere_ but me,” I mumbled to the mattress.  My insides felt like snakes.  I couldn’t sleep, I was barely eating, and even Bas had come to my place to find out why I wasn’t annoying him to get out of the house.  He had suggested inviting her to game night again, she had bowed out of the last three, claiming there was just too much to do on the farm.  Her face during my visit flashed in my memory, a haunted look gazed out over dark bags, which she hadn’t even tried to cover up with makeup this time.  Man, I screwed up royally.

I rolled over, watching the popcorn ceiling sparkle in the reflected sunlight. “I’ve got to talk to her.  And somehow get her to listen.  And not run away.  And look at me.  Especially look at me.”  Gripping my hair, I growled.  “But how the heck am I supposed to do that?!”  I didn’t want to force her into a corner again.  It had taken all my experiences with her up until now to consciously realize it, but she freaked out when faced with corners- literal or metaphorical ones.  And my hugs had put her in both at once.  If she couldn’t run, she’d hide, and I couldn’t bear her hiding _or_ running from me.  It was too lonely.  I had to fix this.

Pulling out my phone, I entered the same text I had written a hundred times now.  _“Hey.  I need to talk to you.  Come over?”_   I stared at it, then spammed the backspace key, my words disappearing into the void.  I didn’t know what I was more afraid of, her ignoring the message, or a response.  It was like I was living waiting for the other shoe to drop.  But the alternative... What if she never wanted to see me again?  What if she hated me know?  I wasn’t sure I could live with it.

“Sam?”

But life goes on.  “Yeah, Vince?”

“Mom says you’re supposed to take me to school today.”

“Okay buddy.” Lurching up off the bed, I could feel myself dragging my feet. Vincent raced off to grab his school things, and I shoved my feet in my shoes, not bothering with the laces. 

“Ready!” Vince shouted as he ran back to the front room.  I led him out of the house, barely remembering to pull the door shut behind me.  Vincent was wearing a perplexed look when I glanced down at him.

“Are you sick?”

“What?”

“Are you sick?  Do you need to get a shot?”

We had tried to explain vaccines to Vincent a couple years ago in an effort to get him over his fear of needles, and it had worked too well.  He was the only kid I knew who cried when he _didn’t_ get a shot at the doctor office.  Harvey had just taken to sticking him with a lancet whenever he came in for a cold.  One bandage and a candy later, you had a kid satisfied he wasn’t going to die.

“No, I don’t think I am.”  It felt like it though.  “Why?”

“Cause you’ve been acting like you’re all sick, like the time you ate all those slimy things.”

“Oysters,” I corrected.

“Yeah, oysters.” Vincent nodded.  “Did you eat more oysters?”

“I did not.  So I’m fine.”  I tried to convince myself as much as my brother.

“I still think you need a shot.”

We arrived at the picnic blanket outside of Marnie’s ranch.  Penny and Jas were already working through what sounded like history. 

“Is he late?”

Penny glanced up at me.  “No, we’re early.”  She turned her gaze to Vincent.  “Pick one of the books, Vincent, and start reading.”  Penny held up one finger as he started to speak.  “And no complaining, we are having outside class, and that’s as much compromise as you’re getting sir.”

“Okay…” He walked the last few feet to the blanket, scuffing the toes of his shoes as he went.  I waited until he was a page into the book before I nodded goodbye to Penny and walked back down the road.  I passed the house, not feeling like confining myself to my room again.  And if I was going to pace, I might as well do it where Mom couldn’t bug me with some chore. 

Brooding, I followed the path up the side of the house to the north of town.  I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking left, down the path to the farm.  It would take five minutes, I could find her and…  and what?  If she didn’t want to talk to me last week, I doubt she does now.  My feet led me up the stairs and down the dirt pathway that curved around the community center.  “Visiting Bas, I guess,” I muttered to myself.  He had been concerned enough to come see me, so the least I can do is make him a little less worried.  I knocked on the front door before pushing it open.

“Oh, Sam!  You here to visit Sebby?”  The carpenter sat on a stool behind the store counter, whittling away at a miniature model of what looked like a tower with no windows.  She saw my confusion, and held it up.  “New silo model, nearly the same square footage, twice the volume!” she said enthusiastically.

I nodded, then pointed to the basement.  “Yeah, just here to see Bas.”

“Well, he’s in, as usual.  Good to see you Sam.”

“You too Mrs. Wright.” 

“Robin!” she called after me as I rounded the corner of the stairwell.  It didn’t matter how many times she told me, I grew up calling her Mrs. Wright, and that’s who she’d be in my mind forever.

“Hey, coming in.  Don’t be doing anything nasty.”  There were things even best friends would never be prepared to see, and unfortunately, I had learned this fact through experience. Walking in on your two friends about to get it on was something you didn’t have to see twice.

“Oh, don’t worry, she’s not here.” Bas shouted back, knowing his words would bring back the image and torment me.  Thank Yoba those two had broken things off years ago now, I don’t think I could have lived with them being all lovey-dovey around each other on a long term basis.  It just felt so… wrong.

“Yoba, you look like shit.” Sebastian commented as I closed the bedroom door. “What the hell is going on with you?”

“You too?” I groaned.  “Vincent said I needed a shot.”

Bas laughed at this.  “Maybe he’s right.  Or at least a good kick in the ass.  Seriously, what’s up?”

“The same.”  I knew he’d get it.

“Emmaline again?  You’ve got it bad, Sam.  Why don’t you just go talk to her?”

“I tried.  Last week.  And it’s not like that.” I didn’t know what I was feeling, just that I wanted to be around her. _Like all the time_ , I realized, but pushed it aside.  And in any case, the last thing I wanted was some blabbermouth telling Emma about it and making her avoid me even more.

“And?”

“And she wouldn’t look at me, told me she had to feed chickens, then walked into that damn forest she keeps on her property.  In the _opposite_ direction of the chickens.”  I sat down on the stool, its legs squeaking as I scooted it closer to the table. 

“Oh, that’s harsh.” 

“What am I supposed to do?”

My friend considered this for a moment, then shrugged.  “Don’t know.  Maybe just give her time?”

“It’s been almost a month, Bas!”  The stool clattered as I stood to pace around the room.  “That’s way more than ‘some’ time.” 

“Hey, chill, you’re making me anxious with that pacing.”  I nearly threw myself on his couch in response.  It creaked in agony.

Sebastian frowned.  “If you’re going to wreck shit, go outside.”  He got touchy about his stuff. 

“Sorry,” I apologized.  Lounging on the couch, my feet stuck over the far end, but I let them hang, trying my best not to swing them irritably. 

“Have you tried texting her?”

I stayed silent, not wanting to admit that I was too scared to.  But Bas had been my friend for too long.  “You’re scared of what she’ll say.”

“Of course I am!” I yelped, nerves getting the better of me.  “What if she hates me now?  What if I lost her friendship?”

“You still haven’t told me what you did.”

“Nothing!” I said hurriedly.  “We talked, had a race back to her house after the luau and I went home.  End of story.”  Or at least the end of the story I was willing to divulge.

He glared at me, knowing I was lying, but unable to piece together how.  “Then I guess you’re screwed.  You’ve lost a friend, and now we don’t have a fourth player for Chronicles.  At least Abby will be happy.  I might kill you though.  I’m not inviting my half-sister.”

That sparked an idea.  “ _You_ could talk to her!  Maybe hint at coming to see me?” I stretched to see Bas’ face over the computer monitor.

“No.  No way.  This is _your_ problem, not mine.”

“Hey, you said you’d be her friend too!”

“Yeah, but not your wingman to make your crush not hate you.”

“It’s… we’re… she’s not… ugh!  You’re supposed to be my friend, and friends help each other out. This is how you help me out in this situation!”  I didn’t lose my temper very often, and especially not with Bas, but something in his tone was making me angry.

“Fine!” Sebastian sighed noisily.  “I’ll invite her _again_ to game night when she stops by to see Mom.  Okay?  But if you want to work things out with her, you’re going to have to figure out a way to talk through it.  No middle men.  It doesn’t work.”

His offer calmed me down, and as much as I hated to admit it, he was right about needing to talk to Emmaline myself.  “Okay.  But if this all falls out because you told me to talk to her directly, it’s on you.”

“Whatever.  Just go get your _friend_ back.”

Pushing myself off his couch, I said goodbye and took the stairs two at a time out of the basement.

“Leaving already?” Mrs. Wright asked.

“Yeah, I told him what I needed to.”  And he told me too, I guess.

“Well, we’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Sounds good, Mrs. W.  Later.”

I pulled my phone out as I walked, crafting what I hoped was a well written message.

_Emmaline, can we talk?  I really think we sho…_

No, that wasn’t right.

_Hey, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.  Can I come over?_

Nope, erase.

_Emma, are you mad at me?  I’m really sorry about the… thing I did.  I didn’t mean to make you upset._

Too direct.

_Emmaline, how are you doing? We haven’t talked.  Got any food?_

“Oh Yoba, that’s the worst yet.”  I deleted the offending message, and put the phone back in my pocket.  I was almost home, but instead of going in I sat on the edge of the river, my shoes dangling just a couple feet above the rushing water.  I pulled my phone back out, and stared at the little blinking line taunting me to write something.  _Be elegant_ , it said.  _Don’t screw it up_ , it said.  I typed again the words that had been at my fingertips for weeks.

_Hey.  I need to talk to you.  Come over?_

\--<>\--

I had skipped breakfast, and now lunch, but was uncharacteristically not hungry.  Yet, an odd phantom hunger-habit gnawed at my mind. There had been no response from Emmaline, and my mood was plummeting.  Mom was pissed at me, she’d expected me home after dropping Vincent off at school, and then when she caught me mopping the same section of kitchen for the fourth time, she had sent me to my room.  I could hear her pouring out the mop bucket, and shoving it in the hall closet.  The walls were a little less thick than she thought.  I was glad Vincent was adjacent to my room, he couldn’t hear Mom crying in bed after she thought we had gone to sleep.

Making myself get up from my sprawl on the floor, I urged my body towards the kitchen.  Mom was walking down the hall away from me, so I decided to chance getting something to eat.  I was standing in front of the fridge when I heard the door open and shut.  Vincent must have gotten home.

“Hey buddy.” I called out.  He didn’t respond, must have already gone into his room.  The kid always seemed to know when me or Mom was upset, and avoided us.  But then I heard footsteps behind me that were not my brother’s.  I turned, confused.

“Emma.”  My brain short-circuited at her unexpected appearance.  I blurted, “I was just about to have a snack.”  Her face was gaunt, with the same dark circles around her eyes, but she looked thinner than she had, and not in a good way.

“Here, let me get something for you.” I spun to the fridge, and grabbed the first thing I laid eyes on.  Turning back to her, I realized what I had chosen: a raw egg.  Overwhelmed and embarrassed, I fumbled, and dropped it with an audible squelch all over the floor my mother had just cleaned.  “Shit.”  _If things could only get worse_ , I pleaded sarcastically.

I wish someone could have hit me for that.  Mom came barreling back down the hallway.  “What was that sound?” Her tone was accusatory. She gasped seeing the egg on the freshly mopped floor.  “This is absolutely terrible!  What happened?”

My heart sunk as I looked at my friend.  Her normally vibrant expression was traded for one of numb indifference.  She wasn’t just tired, this was something much worse than exhaustion.  The anxious hyperactivity drained out of me.  “…Tell her, Emmaline.”  Let me have it, don’t hold back, I made you look like that and whatever Mom does to me will never be enough to make up for it.

“Sam handed me the snack and I dropped it.  I’m sorry Jodi.”  Her voice gave the impression of contrition, but to me it just sounded forced.

Incredulous, I continued to stare at her.  She wasn’t looking at me anymore, but down at the egg.  “Yeah… I guess that’s what happened.” I wasn’t about to call her out on lying, and I was too stunned to think of anything else.

My mom patted the farmer on her shoulder gently.  “Thanks for telling me the truth, Emmaline.  It’s not such a big deal.”  I didn’t know if she was taking pity on her, or if she simply didn’t see what I did, but I spoke up before she could continue.

“I’m sorry about this, Mom.  I’ll clean it up.”

“Thanks, honey,” she smiled, then walked away into the living room.

“I’ll…” Emmaline started.

“Don’t go.”  I had no idea if she was going to tell me she was leaving, but I couldn’t let her.  “Please.”  I sidled over to the paper towels and scooped up the egg with a bunch of them.  It felt like if I turned away from her, she’d disappear on me.  “See, all cleaned up.”  I tried turning the hint of hysteria I felt into cheerfulness.  “Let’s go to my room?”  I offered the option as gently as I could, and let her lead the way.

Closing the door behind me, I watched as she stood awkwardly in front of my bookcase.  She wasn’t looking at me again, instead her eyes flicked to each of my instruments in turn, finally settling on the green carpet at her feet.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.  

“What?”  I questioned, not sure I had heard her correctly.  She teetered back from me, my inquiry like a wave pushing her into deeper water.

“I’m sorry,” she said a little louder.  She was trembling, wrapped around herself tightly, pulling further inward against the world.

“Emma…”  I didn’t know what to do.  I wanted to comfort her, but my comforting was the whole problem here, wasn’t it?  Making up my mind, I surrendered any plan I had for this discussion.  I sure hoped honesty would work where nothing else seemed to.

“I can see you’re hurting.” Her eyes met mine at this.  “And I know it’s my fault.”  She opened her mouth to say something, but I held up a hand.  “I pushed boundaries that weren’t mine to push, because I wanted to show you... show you how thankful I was.  For you saying that I could trust you with everything that’s going on.”  While it wasn’t the whole truth, it wasn’t a lie either.  It was her compassion that made me care for her more, that prompted the problematic actions.  “Please tell me how to fix this.  I can’t stand not talking to you.”

“You…” she began, “Why are you apologizing?” The unabated confusion was attempting to push through her fear.  Then she shifted the question, “You still _want_ to talk to me?”

“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”

The conversation jumped again.  “How can you just trust me again like that?”

I could sense the weight of the question and didn’t answer right away, carefully considering what I would say next.  “I trust you because you’re my friend, or at least I hope you still are.  You haven’t done anything but be nice to me and I screwed things up.  I have to trust that you meant it when you said you’d be there for me.  Trust that you’re the kind of person who wouldn’t take that back.”

It was a long moment before she spoke again, and she was quiet as she confessed, “I don’t think I can trust anyone like that, Sam, with no reserves, no worries.” Emmaline looked down, and added, “Not even you.” It was like a punch to the gut, but then I saw the grief she had caused herself by admitting it, and the pain faded as my concern for her grew.

Moving past her, I sat on my bed.  She turned to face me again.  “There’s room, if you want it,” I said, motioning to the empty space beside me.  She didn’t move, so I continued, “And… even if you can’t trust me like I trust you, I still want you to be my friend.”

“Still?  Even after… all this?”  She motioned vaguely.

“Yep.”

She sat down next to me then, folding her hands in her lap.  Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m sorry, Sam.”  The fear seemed to be receding at least a little.

“Why?  There’s nothing you need to apologize for.”

“There is.  You are so open, and kind, and trusting.  You are exactly who you seem to be.  And I’m… well, I’m not.  A lot in my life has taught me to not get close to others, to not trust, because everyone will let you down.  I shouldn’t depend on people, since they’ll just leave me in the end anyway.  Or at least that’s what I grew up hearing.  So I push people away when they get too close, and when I feel myself becoming too attached… I run.  And if I can’t, I desperately try to build up walls that will keep me safe for when they inevitably stab me in the back.”

Her voice was thick with emotion, and she was fighting to keep tears from slipping out.  “But I… I don’t _want_ to push you away, Sam.  I don’t _want_ to be like this.  Stardew Valley, Pelican Town, my farm… they’re the first places I’ve felt that it might actually be safe.  I want to believe that the people are inherently kind, different than those I’ve known before.  I know it’s not true, and it’s naïve, but I’d rather be naïve than lose my best friend.  I’m sorry it took me so long to figure that out.”

She tried to discreetly wipe a tear, but it simply opened up a path for the others to flow down her face.  “I hate this part of who I am,” she said bitterly, turning her face to keep me from seeing the tears. 

“I don’t.  I like all of you Emmaline.”  The words slipped out, straight from my heart and out my mouth.  “I mean, we all have parts of ourselves we’d like to change, but I like you no matter what.”

Emmaline looked up at me, tears falling unchecked.  “I don’t get it.  How?  How can you _do_ that?  Just be okay with this?  With me?”

I smiled, not my usual snarky grin, but something that bubbled up inside me.  An illustration of the admiration I felt whenever I looked at her _._   There were no words for it.  Even now, her face red with tear streaks, and her nose starting to drip snot, I felt exactly the same. I reached behind me to grab a tissue from my nightstand, and handed it to her. 

She looked down at it, the small act of kindness triggering something in her.  Slightly uneven breaths gave way to wracking sobs as they were no longer held captive.  Her free hand moved to grip my shirt.  “Ple..ase.” she gasped between sniffles, and futilely tugged me towards her. “Just… one more?”  Hearing my own words repeated back to me, I understood.

 “Oh, Emma…”  I wound my arms around her and pulled her closer, both relishing the contact, and feeling relief at this indication of things mending between us.  I wouldn’t have moved a muscle, but her desperate sniffling prompted me to grab more tissues from the box.  We stayed that way until she calmed, pushing herself away from me, but not shrugging off my arm from around her shoulder. 

“Heh,” she sniffled once more, a little of her normal personality showing in the afterglow of a good cry, “how do you always make things better, Sam?”

“Special secret mental powers,” I joked.  Turning solemn, I wiped a few stray tears from her face with the wad of tissues I was now holding.  “Listen Emma.  I can’t say I understand where you’re coming from.  But I promise you, you _can_ trust me the same way I do you, and I’ll be ready whenever you feel comfortable doing that.  For right now?” I took a deep breath. “Just be with me.  Be my friend.  Don’t shut me out.  It’s no fun, okay?”

Emmaline nodded decisively.  “Deal.  Thank you, Sam.”

“Good.  And now that that is taken care of… you look like someone’s dragged you through the mud and back.  What the heck, Emma?”  My voice was full of mock indignation.  I gave her arm a light squeeze where my hand rested. “And you’ve lost weight, definitely more than a farmer should.  Have you been eating?  Sleeping?”

“Ah.”  She looked away.  “Not so much of either, to be honest.” 

“That’s changing right now then.”  I stood up.  “C’mon, in you go.”

“Wait, what?” 

“You look like a shadow brute with those bags under your eyes, and that was before the bawling.  You are going to get comfy where I’m sure you’ll rest and not go back to work, and I’m going to rustle up some grub.”

The realization of what I was implying dawned on her.  “Sam, I cannot sleep in your bed.”

“Hey!  It’s clean sheets, put on today!  Ask Mom if you have to!” I grouched.  “Plus, it’s that or I’m taking you to Harvey’s.  And don’t think I can’t pick you up now, you’re like a feather with all the weight you lost.”

I pulled at the blankets she was sitting on, and with some effort tugged them loose, sincerely hoping she wouldn’t call me on the carrying threat.  “In.”  Scowling, Emmaline swung her legs onto the bed, but her expression changed rapidly as she felt the clean linen of the sheets.

“Oh, you weren’t lying.  These _are_ clean.” She ran her fingers over my recently ironed pillowcase.

“No shit.” I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated show of annoyance.  “Now come on, scoot down.”  I pulled the covers up to her chin, and took a moment to observe my handiwork.  Something hot started in my stomach at the sight of her in my bed, and I turned quickly.  “Okay, food now.”

I eased open my door, peaking around the corner, and grimaced.  Mom stood stoically in the living room, an eyebrow raised.  I pulled the door shut behind me.  The previous warm feeling was replaced by nervous ice.  “Hey Mom.”  She waited. “Uh, Emmaline’s going to stay over for a bit?”

“What. did. you. do?” She emphasized each word.  “I could hear that poor girl crying all the way in the kitchen.”

“I…!  Nothing!  Well, nothing _this_ time!  We had…” I paused, trying to think of what these last few weeks had been, “a misunderstanding?  But we just made up.  Friends again and all that now.”

She looked at me, a calculating mom-glare, then sighed.  “Okay.  What are you doing now?”

I thought about Emmaline laying in my bed. Better not lead with that.  “Getting us a snack.  You know, since that first one didn’t go so well.”  Clearing my throat, I added rapidly, “she looks really tired though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she fell asleep here.”

Both eyebrows raised at this second part, but with everything that had happened today, I knew Mom would come check on us at some point.  And she didn’t always knock.  “Door stays open,” is all she said, then left me standing alone by the desk.  I breathed out heavily in relief, that could have been _so_ much worse.

Rifling through the fridge, I cursed at the lack of leftovers.  How were we already out?  I opened the pantry, thanking Yoba for the canned soup that sat on the shelf.  Dumping the creamy soup into a bowl, I tossed a paper towel over it and set it to heating.  I didn’t know if she was a chicken and dumplings person, or heck, even a soup person, but it smelled good enough to me.  Yanking a couple more paper towels off the roll and grabbing a spoon, I carefully carried the steaming bowl of soup back to my bedroom.

“Nice.” I muttered under my breath as I managed to get the door open without spilling anything.  I was immediately glad I had been quiet, as a soft almost snore radiated from my bed; Emmaline had fallen asleep while I was out in the kitchen.  She had pulled the sheets loose from where I tucked them in at the bottom, and wrapped herself in a yellow cocoon.   Leaving the soup on the dresser, I snuck up beside her.  Unlike the last time I had seen her asleep, she was smiling.  Just a little bit, but I could tell.  She was relaxed, not tense or nightmare-ridden.  Not clutching the sheets in a vice-like grip. 

I gave myself just a few moments more to take in the sight of her, tranquil.  The adrenaline of our talk was fading from my system, and the weeks of relative insomnia had begun to catch up to me.  I pulled my curtains closed the best I could, and took the soup back out to the kitchen.  “She can have it when she wakes up,” I told myself as I put the bowl back in the fridge. 

The blue couch called to me as I walked past, the familiar cushions offering respite for my own exhaustion.  A little nap wouldn’t hurt.  She looked way more tired than I was, there’s no way she’d be up before me.  I settled down on the lumpy blue beast, my feet hanging over the edge and bumping into the fake tree in the corner.  “Just gonna close my eyes for a little…” I was out before I finished my thought.

\--<>\--

_“Sam?”  Scuffles.  “Oh, you’re asleep.”_

_She was there, in my dream.  This was a good dream then.  Anywhere with her was good._

_A giggle.  Beautiful.  “Hold on.”  Footsteps faded, then returned.  A weight covered me, wrapping me in a wonderfully-scented warmth.  “There.  All tucked in.”_

_A pause._

_“Thank you, Sam.  I’m so glad you’re my friend.”  I felt a gentle hand brushing away the obnoxious strand of hair that always fell in my eyes.  “I’ll try, I promise.  I’ll try to trust you the same way.  You’re already so important to me, it scares me.  But maybe… maybe if you’re there to help, I can do it.”  She sighed, and I wished I could control dream me to wake up and see her, talk to her._

_“I’ll see you later, and again… thank you.”_

_More footsteps and the sound of a door squeaking on old hinges.  I cursed dream-Sam for not waking up, but soon the dream drifted to other things, and the amazing woman was swept away from my thoughts._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A dramatic moment between our two "lovers"! Or at the very least, a dramatically important growing moment for our heroine. Emmaline has been so closed off, how will this new openness that Sam has fostered change her? For the better? Or will her fears be proven true?
> 
> You'll just have to keep reading!
> 
> Vincent likes shots in this story- the game canon is that he hates them, but that little man is brave! Don't let others convince you otherwise! ;)
> 
> So, please, PLEASE leave feedback on how you think I handled this chapter. I am worried it's cheesy or cliche, and I'd really like to avoid both of those. I mean, Sam is a little cheesy of a character, it's part of his charm, but I want _him_ to be the big cheese, not the writing! XD Also, I'm trying to generally improve my writing, and love any resources towards that goal. Message me on Tumblr or link 'em here in the comments if you know of any that might improve my skills!
> 
> Love you darlings.  
> Your author,  
> MaraDin
> 
> (P.S. There should be a Sebby POV coming up, possibly next chapter even!)
> 
> P.P.S. Oh my God it's been a year since I published this story. What the hell. How did I do this? What have I done? _What was I thinking?!_ I have _really_ got to work on this more. We are like maybe a quarter through this story? If I'm being extra generous? Like, Vignettes only covers up till around the half-way point, as jumpy as it is. Would people prefer I pick up the pacing (plot wise), or do you like the plot speed as it is? There's a number of rabbit holes left to travel down, so I sure hope ya'll are up for the journey.


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